Closing the Door
by sarini
Summary: COMPLETE! Sequel to 'Finding the Key'. I think Black is still alive. Severus thought he might forever regret those words. The wizarding world is in trouble again, only now Harry can't save them. SLASH HPCW SS?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter. I do not own his world. I do not own Hogwarts. I only own those characters that came from the dark abyss of my mind, though there are not many in these stories.

**Summary:** Five years after _Finding the Key_ life has settled down in the wizarding world... and then Severus finds the solution to the problem he's been working on all that time, and people start dying again, and this time Harry Potter is unable to save the wizarding world from the trouble they find themselves in.

**Closing the Door**

**Chapter One**

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Severus looked up from the parchment in front of him and blinked. It couldn't be that simple. After years of research the answer had been so much less complex than he assumed it had to be. It wasn't exactly normal, what he had set out to accomplish.

He consulted a piece of parchment that was tacked up on his office wall. Harry's schedule was crazy and completely without pattern and Severus sometimes wondered if Harry did that purposefully to drive him insane, knowing how much Severus hated disorder. He divided his time between the Ministry, the Romanian dragon preserve, Potter Manor, the Hogwarts Board of Governors, and the Hogwarts Preparatory Academy.

The Romanian dragon preserve was the main home for Harry and Charlie Weasley, the older brother of Harry's best friend from Hogwarts. Harry and Charlie were a bonded couple, in a ceremony designed and partially performed by Harry which literally tied their magic together. Harry had once explained the particulars, but for once Severus had gotten lost while his son explained, rather than the other way around.

At the Ministry he had more than one function as well. He was mostly working on a contractual basis as an Unspeakable, using his talent for seeing magic in some manner that he never more than hinted about, but was also on the Wizengamot and a representative to the International Confederation of Wizards.

Ten years ago Severus never would have expected Harry to become such a responsible adult. He had thought the absolute worst of the Gryffindor Golden Boy until reality had slapped him in the face... hard. Then had come the shock of his locked memories, his bonding that he had not remembered, and his son... Harry Potter.

Harry had been lying near death in the Hogwarts hospital wing when Severus discovered the memory charm and demanded that Albus reverse it. The charm had been cast by Lily Potter at Severus's request to protect Lily, James, and their unborn son, conceived with the aid of a potion he adapted and brewed that gave Harry a genetic inheritance from all three of them.

It had taken about two years, during which time Harry ended up alone and surrounded by Voldemort's Death Eaters three times, for them to come to some sort of peace and regularity in their relationship. Now, five years after Harry graduated from Hogwarts, Severus was a father-in-law and a grandfather. Almost immediately after he graduated Harry had adopted two muggle-born children whose parents were killed by Death Eaters, leaving them in a muggle orphanage, the very same orphanage where Tom Riddle was raised.

They had to use a few memory charms, and no one wanted to know about the meeting Harry had with Fudge to get the Minister to sign the papers, but the orphanage no longer knew that Carver and Erica existed, and they officially Potters. They were twenty-six months and ten months old, respectively, when Harry adopted them. Now, Carver was eight and Erica was going to be seven in a few weeks.

They had a little brother and little sister, twin four years olds, named Randolph Harold Potter, after a friend of Charlie and Harry's that died in the war and continuing the Potter family tradition by giving the firstborn son the father's name as his middle name, and Katherine Lily Potter, after Katie Bell, who was also killed in the final battle, and Lily Evans Potter. The twins were known to their family as Randy and Kat. All of the children took Potter as their last name, as Charlie had said there would be more than enough Weasleys born in the coming years.

Harry took a long time to recover from his capture by the Death Eaters and the final battle that came not long after he rescued Severus and they escaped. Carver and Erica had been instrumental in that recovery, though there had been several people who had reservations about Harry adopting while still so young. Even with the children around, Severus knew that without the bonding Harry would have become a recluse of sorts to the wizarding world, even more so than he already was. Seeing Harry Potter in public was a rare event.

The-Boy-Who-Lived got whatever he was determined to get though, and Harry had used his influence to get those two children out of the orphanage. It was rare that Harry invoked the power that his fame carried, but when he did the whole world listened. In that case it was Minister Fudge that listened, however reluctantly and grudgingly... and possibly fearfully.

Ginny Weasley carried Randy and Kat as a gift to Charlie and Harry. Their bonding ceremony was performed a year after Harry graduated, though they had already lived together all of that year. Ginny's bonding gift was the nearly complete potion, the pure form of the potion that Severus had adapted, needed for Harry and Charlie to have Randy and Kat and the offer to bear the twins for them. Unlike with Harry, Randy and Kat had only the genetic history from their fathers. Ginny was essentially a living incubator and food source.

Harry was at the Academy with Draco greeting a new class and Charlie was in Romania. That meant either Harry had the kids or they were with Molly, though it was probably a combination of the two. They were safe with the dragons, but if only one parent was there they still got underfoot. Carver loved going to the Academy with Harry. Term at Hogwarts didn't start for another two weeks, so Severus had no commitments for the next few days.

He checked his potions stores to see if he had everything he needed for the potion component and saw he was low on phoenix tears. He was probably the only Potions Master in the world for whom that was not a problem as he had two sources to go to for free phoenix tears. His colleagues outside Hogwarts envied him for his sources and connections.

Charlie teased him more than once that the only reason he hadn't objected to the bonding was because of the potions ingredients Charlie had access to as a dragon handler. Severus readily admitted it was a nice bonus to having Charlie in the family. He refused to say, but it was well known within the small circle that knew him well, that he had fully accepted Charlie into his family before the bond.

The border of the Hogwarts wards was further out than it had been even during the war. When the castle woke up during the final battle some ancient wards had sprung to life which covered Hogsmeade as well as the castle. It was no longer possible to apparate to Hogsmeade, but that was a minor price to pay. Two dozen Death Eaters had been splinched as a result, allowing the residents of Hogmeade to come to the aid of those at Hogwarts and making the final battle much easier, and the death count much lower.

Severus made sure to apparate to Harry's office, as he didn't want to startle the new students and their parents. The building Harry and Draco had converted for the school was one of many mansions that had belonged to the Black family before Harry inherited it from Sirius Black. Severus shook his head. He still couldn't believe he was doing this.

"Severus! How wonderful to see you!" the portrait that hung behind Harry's desk proclaimed.

"Hello Albus," Severus smirked at the portrait. Unlike the live version, this Albus could not offer him potion laced lemon drops or drugged tea, only irritating advice. "I did just see you at breakfast."

"Ah, but that was me, not me," the portrait declared as it popped a painted lemon drop into its mouth.

Severus groaned, wondering for the hundredth time why Harry and Albus had decided to experiment and create a portrait of the headmaster to hang before he died. It only made both versions of the old coot even more... Albus. There was a very sound reason why wizarding portraits were normally only created after the deaths of the wizards. James and Lily had created their own portraits though, so Harry had suggested to Albus that they try it as well.

"I have to find my son Albus, no time for a talk," Severus said as he walked out and closed on the door.

On second thought, there was something therapeutic about the portrait. Severus could never casually walk out on the live Albus. He could storm out, as he had on many occasions and still sometimes did, but not just walk away and ignore the man who had been like a father to him.

"Over the course of the year your instructors will cover many subjects that Mr. Malfoy here learned by the time he was nine, but I had to pick up on my own throughout my education at Hogwarts and after," Harry said from a platform at one end of the ballroom. It was the same speech every year.

"Actually, I think I was seven," Draco smirked at Harry.

Harry sighed and rolled at his eyes at the twenty-three nine and ten-year-olds and their parents, and even some siblings. Orientation Day was open to the whole family. Some of the kids laughed, and the adults all smiled. Harry already had them all charmed, with no use of magic at all.

"You'll hear more about your classes from your instructors when we visit the classrooms after lunch. We'll be dividing you into four groups by the end of the week, so classes are very small and there is plenty of individual attention..."

"Granddad!" Carver interrupted Harry's speech and ran from the platform across the room to thump against Severus's legs.

Severus lifted the boy up and kissed his forehead, "Hello Carver. Are you being good?"

Carver nodded emphatically and a few of the parents in the crowd laughed lightly.

"Professor," Draco greeted him from the stage, "why don't you join us. This is Professor Snape, Potions Professor, Head of Slytherin House, and Deputy Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

Severus nodded to the crowd as he joined Harry and Draco. Harry drew in the air with his hand and conjured a chair, eliciting a few gasps from the parents. Someday their children would be able to do that, though they would have to use wands. Harry hadn't used one since he was sixteen. Severus sat down with Carver in his lap.

Harry continued his speech, telling them about field trips, activities, and the special days when parents were invited, "We want you all to be comfortable with your children's newly discovered talents. My own relatives were not fond of magic and it created a rift between us that was all too common between muggle-born witches and wizards and their parents in years past. We can take any questions you may have before our morning activity."

"What is it this year?" Severus asked Carver in a low tone.

"Quidditch," Carver answered in a conspiratorial whisper. "Daddy got Aunt Jackie to get the Gryffindor and Slytherin teams to come and play. Aunt Jackie is Captain this year."

Jacqueline Gudgeon was a disaster in the Potions classroom but a superior quidditch chaser. Ginny Weasley had recognized her talent the first time she saw the girl fly and recruited her for the Gryffindor team the first day of her second year at Hogwarts, Ginny's seventh year.

She also happened to be dating the captain of the Slytherin team, quite a scandal in the school. It was the only explanation for how Harry had managed to pull this together. Despite all the efforts to the contrary there was still a strong rivalry between Gryffindor and Slytherin. It just wasn't quite as violent as it had been in years past. Severus was just waiting a few more years for the first children of Harry's contemporaries to see how the rivalry continued.

"After the tour this afternoon we have a special bus to take us all to Hogsmeade, the village where you can purchase all your supplies." Harry had learned the charms for the Knight Bus and converted his own bus for the school to make transporting the children easier. He also made the ride much smoother, but Severus had no idea how that was accomplished, only that Remus was somehow involved. "The same bus will bring you home after dinner at the Three Broomsticks. There is a branch of our bank there where you can convert Pounds. We will explain conversion rates and wizarding money on the bus."

"Where are we?" one of the parents asked.

"Very good question," Harry smiled broadly. Severus could swear that more than one mother in the room sighed at seeing that smile. Harry, to that day, would not believe the effect he had on people. "This building is located in Northumberland. We are in the Cheviot Hills." The statement was met with shock on several faces. "Our methods of transportation are very efficient."

Harry pointed to one of the new students, "Why can't I tell my friends?"

"If you broke your arm right now, I could fix it in under a minute, good as new," Harry smiled at the boy. "If your friends knew I could do that, would they want me to help them?" The boy nodded. "We currently have about two hundred Healers in all of Europe, and a population of about twenty-five thousand witches and wizards. There are over eight hundred million non-magical people in Europe. If we were to offer our talents to the general population we would not be able to help nearly as many people as need it, even we all dedicated all our time to medical magic."

Draco added the other portion of the answer that was provided to the same question every year, "There is also a good chance your friends would not believe you. You will not own a wand until you go to Hogwarts, and will not be allowed to use magic while you are away from school until you are seventeen. Doing so would result in disciplinary actions from the government, potentially including expulsion, which also means your wand would be snapped."

"You will continue to learn what is taught in non-magical schools this year, though your classes will be different from what you are accustomed to," Harry finished. He pointed to one of the parents.

"What happens if my daughter doesn't like this school?" the woman asked.

Harry smiled, "I've only a few people who actually _like_ school." There were some laughs and Harry addressed the group at large, "How many of you have made something strange happen when you're mad, or scared, or excited?" Every new student raised their hand somewhat timidly, but sat up a little straighter when they saw the other hands in the air. Some younger children raised their hands as well, future students.

"I inflated my aunt like a balloon when I was thirteen," Harry informed them with a shake of his head. "I was upset because she was insulting my parents and I lost control of my magic. The Accidental Magic Reversal Squad had to come out to the house and deflate her. As you get older you will get more powerful. Accidental magic can be dangerous, to the witch or wizard and to those around them. Learning to control your magic is essential. When I was sixteen, I accidentally made the hospital wing at Hogwarts look like a tornado had ripped through it, twisted metal frame beds, broken glass, and all because I was angry."

That little story instantly quieted any more questions of that sort. Draco pointed to a father, who stood up for his question.

"What sort of jobs are there for witches and wizards once they graduate?"

Draco grinned, "Carver, what does Dad do?"

"He works with dragons!" Carver announced proudly, causing a wave of astonishment to spread through the room. A few people in the room remarked that dragons did not exist, but they seemed a bit unsure after all they had seen.

"Uncle Bill?"

"He's a Curse Breaker for Gringotts."

"Aunt Ginny?"

"She's a Auror." Severus quietly corrected the boy's grammar.

"Aurors are dark wizard catches," Draco elaborated, gesturing with one hand, "kind of like special... what do you call them again?"

"Policemen," Harry answered. "What does Uncle Ron do?"

"He's the Keeper for the Kenmare Kestrals."

"They're a professional sports team," Draco explained. "Our morning activity this year is a game between two of our Hogwarts teams, the teams that Mr. Potter and I played on when we were students. There is as wide a variety of jobs for wizards and witches as for non-magical people. We do not have a problem with unemployment or poverty, as our society is so small." Severus noticed that Draco left out the prejudices still active that made it difficult for werewolves and other similarly inflicted wizards and witches to find jobs. "Are there any more questions?"

"How many aunts and uncles does Carver have?" someone called out.

Draco laughed and Harry answered, "His father had five brothers and one sister. One of the brothers died six years ago and three of them are married, and his sister is engaged, so that's a total of eight right now, and nine this spring." Severus saw that none of them had quite worked out yet that Carver had two male parents. Luckily by the time the students and parents usually discovered that tidbit they were all enamored of Harry and wouldn't think of judging him and Charlie for their relationship. Muggles had some strange views on things like that. "If you all will just follow me the teams should be here."

Harry walked over and took Carver from Severus, "Hey Dad. What brings you here?"

Both Harry and Draco were dressed in muggle attire to make the parents and new students more comfortable, but Severus was wearing his teaching robes. The Academy uniform was similar to the Hogwarts uniform, but more casual and closer to muggle school uniforms, sort of a transition to robes for the students.

"I'll tell you over lunch. I wouldn't want you to drop Carver," Severus smirked at his son.

Harry raised an eyebrow and opened the front door with a flick of one finger, "That good, huh?"

"That good," Severus replied smugly.

They circled around the school, which was really a sprawling Tutor style mansion with more rooms than Harry and Draco knew what to do with. They taught their students the basics of flying, which allowed Rolanda Hooch to teach more advanced techniques as early as first year, much to her delight. There were no quidditch games played by the students, but Draco and Harry had built a pitch anyway and there were games of amateurs, mostly Weasleys, all year long.

A girl wearing the crimson and gold Gryffindor quidditch uniform ran over to Harry and Carver when she saw them, "Harry!" She mussed up Carver's strawberry blond hair, "Hey there Carv. Hi Professor."

"Miss Gudgeon," Severus nodded at her, thankful she was no longer in his classes.

"Ready to go Jackie?"

"Of course," Gudgeon's blond braids flipped over her shoulder. "Which one of you is referee?"

"Harry," Draco said before Harry could get a word in.

Harry rolled his eyes, "Fine." He handed Carver back to Severus and kissed the young boy on the forehead, "Be good for Granddad. _Accio broom!_"

Draco directed the parents and students into the small stands and Severus sat down with his former student, "How have you been?"

"Good," Draco replied with a wide grin. "Anna is pregnant again."

"I swear, you are not a Malfoy," Severus shook his head. "This will be number four?"

"Four and five," Draco responded. "Anna has sisters that are twins. I think we'll stop there though. Anna threatened a few particularly harsh curses to my male anatomy when we found out."

Severus smirked and turned his attention away from the head of the Malfoy family, the only Malfoy in at least ten generations to sire more than one child. It made Severus wonder if extensive practice of dark magic limited virility... it _was_ the old dark families that had very few children... with his latest project ending perhaps he had a new research topic.

The Gryffindor and Slytherin teams waited on the ground below them and Harry hovered right in front of the stands, his muggle suit replaced by black quidditch robes. Severus found it amusing that Harry's preferred color for robes was black, the same as his.

"You are about to witness a game of quidditch," Harry announced to the crowd. "For a brief explanation, quidditch is a bit little like basketball on brooms, but with three hoops on each side and a few more balls. The two teams playing are the Hogwarts teams for Gryffindor House and Slytherin House. We will be teaching our students to fly, but they are not allowed to join a team until their second year at Hogwarts, and quidditch is not played by the students here. Our announcer is Thomas Jennings, a member of Gryffindor House, who will start his sixth year at Hogwarts on the first of September.

"Players mount your brooms!"

The teams took their positions and Jackie tossed the quaffle to Harry. With a flick of his wrist the bludgers and snitch were released.

"Captains shake hands," Jackie Gudgeon and Graham Pritchard shook. "Let's have a nice clean game." Harry threw the quaffle in the air.

"Gryffindor has the quaffle. That's the ball they're tossing back and forth folks. Slytherin Beater Nott hits a bludger, those nasty little black balls, towards the Gryffindor chasers and Slytherin takes the quaffle," Jennings was much more appropriate with his language than normal, probably warned by Jackie. He explained the rules as the game went along, adding in some of the hundreds of ways to foul an opposing player.

There was a timeout called when one of the Slytherin chasers took a bludger to the leg, and the bone was quite obviously broken. Harry fixed the break and they both flew back into the air, the game restarted. The new students sitting in front of Severus were enthralled, though some of the parents looked uneasy.

Harry must have manipulated the snitch somehow, because it appeared just in time for the game to end right before lunch. The seekers both went into a steep dive and when they pulled up Harry blew his whistle.

"The capture of the snitch awards 150 points to Slytherin, and they win the game 160-50." Gudgeon and Pritchard shook hands again and the Slytherins flew a victory lap in formation around the pitch, fists punching the air in victory.

"We can all head inside for lunch now, and any questions regarding the game," Draco stood and announced to the group.

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Please Review!

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	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

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The teachers joined everyone for lunch. They would be introduced after the meal and take the new students and parents around in small groups to see the classrooms and the rest of the grounds. There were several round tables set up in the ballroom with a head table for the teachers, Harry, Draco, Carver, and Snape.

Harry cast a quick cleaning charm on himself and transformed his quidditch robes back into a muggle suit, "Thanks for coming guys. You're all welcome to stay for lunch if you like."

"Free food?" Graham Pritchard perked up, "Hell yeah."

Both teams laughed at that and Jackie grinned, "I think we can all stay."

"Great," Harry started to lead them inside. "You can all Floo back to London, or straight home if you like, after lunch."

"Dad wanted to see you about something," Jackie walked alongside Harry, her boyfriend on the other side holding her hand. "He wanted you to give him a call when you have a moment and said it's important."

"Interesting important or dark important?" Harry frowned, his mind switching modes to consider the possibilities.

"He didn't say," Jackie admitted with a shrug, "but I think it's dark important. He seems preoccupied lately. This latest dig has been distracting him a lot."

Harry nodded, "Tell him I'll drop by or call tonight."

"Gotcha," Jackie grinned.

When they got to the ballroom the quidditch players all went to three tables at the back of room. They sat divided by house, except for the table where Jackie and Graham sat with their close friends on their teams. Harry grinned. That never would have happened when he was a student. Even if he and Draco had managed to resolve most of their conflicts, and go into business together, they had never truly become friends. It was no surprise to the school's staff that many of their future students raced over to the quidditch players and bombarded them with questions.

"So," Harry placed his napkin on his lap and filled first Carver's plate, then his own, "what brings you here from Hogwarts today?"

"I did it," Severus announced simply.

Harry dropped his fork, drawing attention from all over the room as it clattered on his plate. He was completely unaware though, "You did it? You can bring him back?"

"What are you talking about?" Draco asked from the other side of Snape.

"Your cousin Draco," Harry's father had always like dramatics, as evidenced by his first year speech. "Sirius Black is not dead, just trapped behind the veil." Draco's eyes widened.

Harry was grinning from ear to ear by then. He was going to get his godfather back. Sirius could meet the kids, and Remus would have his friend back.

"You can save him?" Hermione was sitting on the other side of Carver. She was six months pregnant, another Weasley on the way, her third.

"When?" Harry asked eagerly. He hadn't been that excited since Randy and Kat were born.

His father smiled at him, "There is a potion that I must brew, but I can do that today once I restock my supply of phoenix tears," he slowed his words at the end, raising an eyebrow at his son.

"Done," Harry interrupted. He would give blood to get Sirius back.

"Then tomorrow, if that is convenient."

Harry almost couldn't believe what he was hearing, "Name your time. I can meet you there, or pick you up at Hogwarts."

"Come to breakfast tomorrow and we'll go together," Snape suggested.

Harry grinned at his father, "You just don't want to walk all the way to the edge of the wards."

The eyebrows raised and Snape tilted his head to look down at him, "I have no difficulty whatsoever walking to the edge of the wards. I merely believe that the rest of the staff would be thrilled to see you."

"I don't know," Harry teased. "You _are_ a grandfather."

"There is not a single gray hair on my head," Snape's classic glare formed.

"Granddad!" Carver giggled.

"When did my glares cease to work?" Harry's father asked with mock exasperation, causing a rise in the giggling from the eight year old.

Draco grinned, finally recovered, "When the world discovered that your entire chosen family is comprised of Gryffindors."

Snape snorted, "They all latched onto me. I only chose three of them. I blame James for the wolf and the gravedigger."

"In for one, in for a dozen," Hermione laughed. None of them commented on the slights to Remus and Davey, as they all knew he wasn't malicious in his intent. "Gryffindors don't come individually. We're an all or nothing kind of people."

A few parents had come up to the table by then and Harry, Draco, and the teachers stopped talking amongst themselves to answer questions.

"That game looked dangerous," the mother talking to Harry commented. "Will they be playing here?"

"No," Harry assured her, to the disappointment of her daughter. "We teach only basic flying skills. Only one out of every ten or so students at Hogwarts joins their house team. Both Mr. Malfoy and I played, but Mrs. Weasley, next to Carver there, has only been on a broom a handful of times since her lessons." Hermione was talking to family of five and didn't even react to hearing her name. "There are some injuries, but it's no more dangerous than any other sport."

"Have you been injured?" she asked, still uncertain.

Draco had been talking to another parent but he burst out laughing. He addressed both parents, and Harry supposed they were talking about the same thing, "Potter there is a magnet for trouble."

"The school nurse had me calling her by first name by the time I was sixteen," Harry added with a grin. "Most of my injuries were not quidditch related though. I only had to visit Poppy after two games. One of my father's friends got to call her by her given name when he was fourteen. He saw her at least once a month."

Draco almost choked on his food at that and Harry's father smirked and pounded him on the back. Harry knew that Draco was still uncomfortable around Remus, and it got Draco back for the comment about Harry's tendency towards injury. The former Slytherin would most likely still be terrified of the werewolf, but Remus had saved his life in the final battle of the war and that had gone a long way towards getting past Draco's prejudices.

Harry spoke to several parents, reassuring nearly all of them that quidditch was not quite as dangerous as it looked, and injuries that were serious for muggles were healed in seconds by medi-witches and wizards. A day that was normally over as soon as it had begun dragged out for Harry that year. He and Draco went over all the paperwork for the new students while the teachers gave tours and Carver took his afternoon nap on the couch in Harry's office. Harry also transformed into his phoenix form to provide his father with the necessary potions ingredient to bring Sirius back.

Hermione was the Headmistress, as well as history teacher, both muggle and magical, and instructed the students in grammar and writing. Penelope Clearwater taught Potions and Herbology basics and some muggle science, as well as introducing the students to magical creatures. The other teachers Harry hadn't known at Hogwarts, but they were all recommended by Hogwarts staff members and had worked well so far. They were also all members of the Order, the school itself doubling as Order of the Phoenix Headquarters.

At Snape's suggestion they also taught penmanship and basic writing skills, apparently improving the quality of essays at Hogwarts dramatically. It was the third year the school was in operation and his father at least was very pleased with the results in his own students at Hogwarts.

Snape rode the Academy bus to Hogsmeade with them, watching after Carver while Harry and Draco explained wizarding money. Harry and Remus had spent many stomach-turning hours on the Knight Bus figuring out how to make the ride smooth. Harry had examined the magic, reporting to Remus, who worked out how to alter the enchantments in a series of Arithmancy equations that made Harry dizzy to look at.

"The Three Broomsticks is just up the street there," Harry gestured. "All the storekeepers know who we are and why we're here today. Feel free to explore and ask them as many questions as you like, and Rosmerta will be serving us dinner in a private room at seven. Mr. Malfoy and I will be there all afternoon, and Carver will be with his uncles in Weasley Wizarding Wheezes until dinner."

"Really?" Carver looked up with a hopeful face.

"Fred and George want you to help them out today," Harry scooped up his adopted son and hugged him.

Carver wiggled to get down and pulled Harry towards the joke shop. Fred and George easily won the best uncles prize every year, as they had never grown up themselves.

"Uncle Gred! Uncle Forge!" Harry snickered at Carver's address of the twins. He had picked up on their self-appointed nicknames early on and used them more than their real names.

"Carver!" Fred came out from behind the counter and whirled his squealing nephew around. He smiled at Harry, "Dinner at seven?"

"Just ask Rosmerta where we are," Harry returned the smile. Fred was even happier than normal. "What's with you?"

"Would you like another cousin Carver?" Fred asked the eight year old.

"Another? 'Sides Aunt 'Mione's baby?" Carver asked. Fred nodded, "Okay."

"Angelina?" Harry asked with raised eyebrows. Fred nodded again. "Congratulations Daddy. We're going to need to move family gatherings to the Manor soon. I don't think the Burrow can accommodate all these additions. See you at dinner. Be good for Fred and George."

Carver kissed Harry's cheek, "Okay Daddy."

"I thought that day would never end," Harry sighed as the bus pulled back into the Academy carport. After dinner the Weasley twins had treated the group to a special fireworks show of their own design and then each family was returned to their home. He picked up a sleeping Carver and got off the bus with Draco.

They said goodbye to the driver, an almost squib (enough magic to own a wand and do basic spells but not quite enough to attend Hogwarts) from the Bones family who also worked as the school's technology teacher. Ethan Bones taught the students about how wizards used magic in place of muggle technology, and the Academy Bus provided several lessons. He gave the Floo lessons and flying lessons as well. He also lived on the grounds, in one of the Order bedrooms, and looked after the school year round.

Draco shook his head. He clearly knew what had been on his business partner's mind all day, "Do you think it will really work?"

"He wouldn't have even told me about it if he had any doubts," Harry grinned. "I have no idea how I'm going to sleep tonight."

"Your father is a Potions Master," Draco rolled his eyes. "Surely you have a good supply of sleeping draughts."

"I try not to touch them," Harry shuddered. He had taken so many potions to help him sleep in the past he was surprised he hadn't become another Rip Van Winkle, who accidentally made a sleeping potion just a bit too strong and slept for one hundred years. Snape mentioned him as a warning every year when he covered sleeping draughts.

"Headed back to Potter Manor?" Draco asked innocuously, or seemingly so. Nothing a Slytherin ever did was innocuous.

Harry nodded, "Molly has Erica, Randy, and Kat for the weekend. I'll drop off Carver at the Burrow first. I don't think I'll want him underfoot tomorrow."

Draco smirked, "Eight year olds and new, untested rituals don't mix. 'Night Harry."

Harry didn't have a chance to respond before a 'crack' sounded and Draco vanished, back to Malfoy Manor and his own wife and kids. Harry grinned at what the next day would bring and focused his own magic on the Burrow, appearing in the kitchen a second later.

"Harry!" Molly kissed his cheek and took Carver. The boy mumbled something unintelligible in his sleep and settled into Molly's arms.

"Can I trouble you to take Carter for the weekend as well?" Harry asked his mother-in-law with a pleading look.

She smiled indulgently, "Of course. I'd love to. Did something come up?"

Harry nodded. He was almost bursting with excitement, "Dad found the answer. We're getting him out tomorrow."

Molly was one of the very few people who knew what Snape had been working on. Harry just hadn't been able to hold it in and his surrogate mother, and now mother-in-law, was one of the few people he could talk to candidly. Carver was placed gently in a chair by the fireplace and Molly hugged Harry tightly, "Oh Harry! Have you told Charlie yet, or Remus?"

"I was going to call Charlie once I got home," Harry smiled. "We agreed not to tell Remus until we're successful. I don't want to get his hopes up, and then if something happens..."

He didn't really need to say anymore. Remus hadn't been the same since the end of the war. He had his friends, and was an honorary grandfather to Harry's children, but there were no more Marauders left, nothing of his original pack. Even Peter was gone forever this time around.

Molly just nodded and glanced fondly at Carver, "I'll just put him in Ron's old room."

Harry smiled thankfully. Molly was the perfect grandmother, and she didn't spoil the kids rotten. That was Arthur's job, and even Snape's sometimes though he adamantly denied it and was never caught. She gave him a tight hug and Harry soaked in the caring for a few moments, marveling at how much he had changed in just five years.

There was a time when any sort of physical contact from other people was very unwelcome. For a long time the only people able to touch him without a flinch or cringe on his part were his father, Charlie, Hermione, Molly, Remus, Albus, and his kids. There was a brief time before that when none of them could touch him. He still disliked contact, but his aversion was not nearly as bad as it had been.

When they separated Molly had tears in her eyes and was wiping them away as she bent to pick up Carver again. That boy could sleep through anything. Harry had no cause for worry, despite the tears. He could feel the happiness almost pouring off Molly.

Harry was back in Potter Manor in a heartbeat. It wasn't really apparating, what he did, though it was commonly accepted as the same thing. Of course, most of the wizarding world didn't know he was a phoenix animagus and had nearly all of the magical traits of the phoenix, even while human. He hadn't tried the singing part though. That would be entirely too embarrassing.

The instant he was fully materialized in his home he was flooded with a sense of well-being and completeness, a sense he only got when one person was in close proximity. A huge smile spread over Harry's face as he began searching his house, checking every room in the tower quickly before he reached the master bedroom at the very top.

"Hey," strong arms wrapped around him as he stepped into the room.

With the one touch their connection instantly flared. Harry returned the embrace and opened himself completely, dropping the shields and barriers that were essential to his sanity whenever he was around others, with the exception only of Charlie.

"Who told you?" Harry leaned in for a kiss, not allowing Charlie to answer just yet. He should have known that Charlie would be waiting for him, knowing Harry would need him that night.

Charlie grinned, "Draco called me when he got back to Malfoy Manor."

"Should have known," Harry laughed lightly.

They kissed hungrily. It had been four days since they had seen each other, and that was far too long in both their opinions. Clothing vanished and reappeared clean and either hanging in a wardrobe or folded in a bureau. Harry felt their magic merging as they pressed together, a little side-effect of the bonding ritual they had used. Whenever they were in close physical contact the magic that flowed through their bodies connected and they were brought into a deep rapport.

Harry rested his head on Charlie's shoulder, his body half-draped over Charlie's. A hand stroked his back lazily, fingers ghosting over the crisscross of scars like a blind man reading Braille. Harry let his eyes close as he hummed in contentment. Though he had managed to get past his fear of physical contact, Charlie and his kids were the only ones who Harry was comfortable enough to be with when he wasn't wearing a shirt, preferably long-sleeved, to hide the marks on his body.

The first reaction to Harry's scarred torso, back, and arms was invariably one of horror. His upper body had taken the brunt of the abuse heaped on him throughout his life, by family, working with dragons, quidditch, his own clumsiness, and Death Eaters. He still wore a constant glamour charm on the back of his right hand to disguise the result of detentions with Delores Umbridge, who had been released from St. Mungo's a few years before.

Harry listened to the steady thumping of Charlie's heart and squeezed half-heartedly with his left arm. Charlie had once remarked that the best time to tease Harry was after sex, when Harry couldn't summon enough energy to move, let alone retaliate. The hand that was stroking his back rested more heavily there and was joined by another arm and hand.

Charlie hugged him tightly and Harry practically purred. Harry was easily more powerful, both in magical abilities and their shared gift of empathy, but Charlie was the steady one, the one that grounded Harry. Without that, Harry had no doubt he would have retreated into his animagus form permanently long ago, driven almost to madness by the emotions and magic all around him combined with his memories.

"Damn," Harry mumbled, his brain reminding him of the call he promised to make.

"What did you forget?" Charlie asked with a grin that Harry couldn't see but he knew was there.

"Cyclops had Jackie deliver a message for him today," Harry said as he tried to will his body to gather enough energy to move. "I promised to call him tonight."

"Well, there's only one solution then," Charlie's amusement trickled into Harry through his empathy.

"No," Harry only barely managed to get the word out before Charlie started tickling his sides. "NO!" He said between gasps and uncontrollable laughter. "Charlie! Quit it!"

Harry rolled off the bed and stood up, brushing his fingers through his hair and searching the room for his phone. After he graduated he had been astonished to learn that the Order of the Phoenix's secret communication method was muggle cell phones adapted to work off magic by Arthur Weasley. Arthur was a bit of a mad genius and could fiddle with nearly any muggle technology and get it to work around magic, which was supposedly impossible. It was amazing how many people underestimated the man because of his muggle fascination.

_Accio Phone!_ Harry held out a hand and the phone flew out from under a pile of clothes. He stuck his tongue out at Charlie, who just laughed and leaned against the pillows. Harry flipped the phone open, activated it, and dialed the combination for Davey Gudgeon.

"Hey Cub," Harry heard from the receiver. It was his unofficial Marauder nickname, not at all fitting with his animagus form, but appropriate for the only offspring of the four Marauders. "Charlie there?"

"Yeah... sorry," Harry apologized for calling so late.

Davey laughed, "No need. I have something I want you to look at."

"Jackie told me," Harry yawned. "Dark important?"

"Yeah," Davey replied. "You busy tomorrow?"

"Very," Harry paused, wondering if he should share this particular information, and decided to go ahead. Davey Gudgeon was a Junior Marauder after all, "Dad found a way to get Sirius out of the veil. We're doing it in the morning."

"Holy bleeding shit," Harry heard Davey's wife Marie chastise him sharply in the background. "Does Moony know?"

"No," Harry stifled his guilt for keeping this from Remus for so long. His father had been working on finding a solution for five years. "I didn't want to get his hopes up. Dad is positive it will work, but something can always go wrong."

Harry could almost hear Davey nodding on the other end, "Give me a call tomorrow once it's done and let me know when we can get together. I don't want to wait much longer on this."

"Will do," Harry responded. "Have a good night."

Davey chuckled, "You too. Try to get _some_ sleep."

The line went dead and Harry folded the phone and tossed it on the floor. He climbed back into the bed and nuzzled Charlie's neck.

"Another dark artifact for you to look at?" Charlie asked and then gasped when Harry licked at his neck.

Harry nodded but didn't say a word. Technically when he was working with Davey it was in his status as an Unspeakable and he wasn't allowed to talk about the work. It was understood that he shared some of it with Albus Dumbledore though, and that Charlie heard a certain amount. Harry let all his thoughts about dark magic and the ritual in the morning fade away and concentrated on the naked body underneath him.

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	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

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Severus arrived at breakfast early in the great hall, as he always did. He had half expected Harry to be there already, but his son was nowhere in sight. There were several possible explanations for that. Harry had been unable to sleep the night before, preoccupied with thoughts of his godfather, and once he did fall asleep hadn't woken until the house elves shook him out of bed.

Or Charlie had insisted on returning to Potter Manor when Harry called him with the news and had been the cause of Harry sleeplessness, and then sound sleep. Charlie was better for Harry than any sleeping potion, most of which the raven haired wizard refused to take, and with good cause. It was difficult to shake a dependency on sleeping potions.

The staff members arrived in the hall one by one and joined Severus for breakfast. Albus came in once about half of them were there and provided his usual chipper early morning conversation. He had retired after Voldemort was defeated but remained at Hogwarts. The castle had been his home for over one hundred years and Albus had said several times that he would die there.

Minerva rose to the position of Headmistress and promoted Severus to Deputy Headmaster. It had come as a surprise to nearly the entire staff when Minerva hired George Weasley to fill in as Transfiguration Professor and Head of Gryffindor House. Her logic made sense to Severus though, once she bothered to explain it.

The Weasley twins had shown that they were responsible when they desired to be, and it helped to have inside information. With a Marauder and a Weasley twin teaching, students that wanted to fill the role of prankster had very little chance. It also helped that he and his brother finally took their N.E.W.T. exams with Harry's class and George had asked to apprentice with Minerva for a Master level in Transfiguration.

George had spent two summers in intense study and achieved his Mastery a little more than two years after Voldemort died. His animagus form, ironically enough, was a weasel. The transfiguration gags at the joke store had also increased in quality by a staggering degree. Severus suspected Minerva of helping them out and offering her own ideas on occasion.

"Morning Dad," Harry's tired voice said from behind him.

Severus turned in his seat, seeing Harry where he hadn't been just a few seconds earlier, and narrowed his eyes, "I hate when you do that."

Harry just grinned and greeted the others at the table.

George entered the hall, unfortunately behind Harry, who spun and pointed his hand automatically.

The redhead held up his hands in surrender and grinned, "War's over Harry, ya' know?"

"Yeah," Harry snorted as he visibly relaxed, but Severus could see tension still there, "I got the memo."

"What are you doing here Harry?" George was the first to ask, with a little chuckle for Harry's joke, and luckily his light mood helped relax Harry further.

With a twinkle to rival Albus's Harry replied, "Top secret. If I told you, I'd have to kill you." George laughed. "Okay, so Dad might kill you... after he killed me."

Severus raised his eyebrows, "I will have you know I have not killed anyone in years."

Harry just kept grinning as everyone at the table laughed. It was rare to see the savior of the wizarding world in such a good mood, without Charlie at his side anyway, and then the two of them would disappear rather quickly. There was not one of them about to dispel the happiness.

"Ready to go?" Harry asked Severus eagerly.

"You're not eating anything?" Severus gave Harry a disapproving look. Harry had never quite regained a healthy appetite, or perhaps one had never developed to begin with.

"I couldn't," Harry was almost bouncing with excitement, reminding Severus vaguely of the Malfoys' former house-elf that Harry had freed... Dobby. The elf worked mostly for the Order, which meant he split his time between Hogwarts and the Academy.

Severus calmly wiped his mouth with a linen napkin, folded it neatly, and placed it beside his plate. It wasn't at all necessary to delay and provoke Harry, but it was so entertaining. Harry gave him a pleading look, then an irritated glare, and then just stepped forward and put a hand on Severus's shoulder.

He fell flat on his rear in Harry's Department of Mysteries office. Severus glared at his son.

"That's what you get for teasing," Harry said with a slight frown.

Severus realized that while Harry was extremely excited, he was also nervous and anxious. It wouldn't take much to push him too far just then, and Charlie wasn't there to soothe him if he got too agitated and lost control of his barriers.

"I apologize," Severus said honestly, and reflected that he wouldn't have even thought those words, much less express them before his memory block was removed. "You should know Harry that this ritual will at least border on dark arts. As Black is not actually dead this is not necromancy, but it is close."

Harry just nodded, though he was starting to look a bit distressed, "I assumed so. Besides, you have no idea what goes on down here on a daily basis. You won't be setting off any detectors. Do you need me to do anything?"

"Not much," Severus gave his son a concerned look. "Are you ready for this? We can wait as long as you need."

His head snapped towards Severus, "No... I mean, yes I'm ready... I don't want to wait... I just..."

"Yes?" Despite having reached age twenty-four there were times when Harry regressed to an almost child-like state, usually when he was upset.

Harry's face was almost blank of emotion, but his eyes were bright and shining, "He hates you Dad. I can't lose you... and I want him back..."

Severus stepped forward and hugged Harry tightly. Harry returned the hug and Severus rested his chin on his son's head. For so long Harry had been unable to stand contact like a simple hug. It felt so good to hold him again.

"You will never lose me Harry," Severus reassured him. "If Black and I cannot resolve our differences then I will just strive to stay out of his presence. If he can grow up, I can tolerate his company. Doubtless Remus will kick some sense into him before long, literally if it is required."

"Thank you," Harry's response was muffled, spoken into Severus's robes. He wiped at his eyes as he stepped back. "Let's get this done before anyone shows up. I don't think I could take the explanations right now."

Severus nodded, "Which door?"

He had been in the chamber before but the doors down there moved around randomly and only those employed by the Department ever knew where to go.

Harry led him through a series of doors. He could have apparated them straight into the chamber but Severus suspected he was using the time to gather himself and prepare.

After transiting several strange rooms that certainly peaked his curiosity they were descending the stairs that led down to the dais upon which the archway stood, the veil softly moving in a nonexistent breeze. Severus had been in the room many times to study the veil, but Harry never stayed with him. Harry stood and stared as if transfixed by the sight.

"They're louder...," Harry almost whispered.

"Pardon?" Severus wasn't sure he heard correctly.

"The voices... from the veil," Harry swallowed visibly and there were tears forming in his eyes. "Luna could hear them too, but not the others that night. There's so much pain."

Severus made sure he was completely calm before forcibly turning Harry to look into his eyes. He touched Harry's cheek gently, "Focus on me." Harry's breathing steadied. "Good. All I need you to do is transform, and sing."

A soft smile, and then it was gone as a brilliantly red and gold bird replaced Harry. The wings stretched out and the phoenix lifted into the air, souring over his head and circling the room. The phoenix song was remarkable and Severus soaked it in.

"You can perch on top of the arch. Just be ready to grab Black and help him if he needs it," Severus instructed succinctly. "Continue singing."

After one more circuit of the room Harry glided down to sit atop the archway and continued his song.

Luckily Severus had all the materials he needed on him when Harry took him out of Hogwarts. He pulled two candles from his robe, both of which he had made, the wax mixed with a potion that was designed to thin the barrier between life and death, and placed them directly in front of the veil.

Harry would never be told that the potion contained some of Severus's blood, as a ritual of this sort required a willing sacrifice. That part was decidedly dark, and might remind Harry too strongly of the resurrection ritual he had unwillingly participated in for Voldemort. Severus had actually used that ritual in his research.

He spoke as he lit the candles and took several lilies out, chosen to symbolize one of the only connections he had with Black, picking off the petals and laying them before the veil. He sprinkled a powder over them that had some stag hairs from James, found in Potter Manor, and some werewolf hairs from Remus, taken to use in his potions research, and the phoenix tears from Harry. It sparked and sizzled in the candle flames.

"I do this not for myself. This is for my son, who has lost so much in such a short time. This is for the only man I ever loved, who always put his friends above himself. This is for the woman who accepted me even with my hatred, whose heart was larger than any I have known, who I grew to love. This is for my friend, who is alone and lost, guilt-ridden and sorrowful without his pack. This is for the victim, who never had a chance to live. This is for Harry, for James, for Lily, for Remus, for Sirius Constantine Black himself."

Severus stepped back, leaving his wand holstered. Ritual magic was one of the wandless magics that was taken for granted. He stood straight and looked into the veil, seeing a glow that had not been there before the candles and flower petals were placed. The petals floated up into the air and drifted around, caught in the currents that moved the veil.

"Ripped from this world, taken before his time, release his soul," Severus commanded loudly, strongly. "White sheep of the Black family, lion from a nest of snakes, hear the call of one you hate and return."

Finally Severus took out the robes that Black had worn in Azkaban, not knowing why they were still available to him but thankful nonetheless. Of all items, they perhaps had the strongest imprint of Black's magic, as he had worn them for thirteen years with no change. Severus threw the robes beyond the veil.

"Send out the one whose magic is here!"

For a brief moment Severus thought he heard the voices that Harry had mentioned surrounding him. In his research he heard of them, and Harry had described everything he knew about the veil, but Severus never expected to hear them himself.

He felt the magic swirling around him, pulling at him, calling to him. Petals and powder were sucked into the void. The veil itself was very tempting, but the phoenix song kept him focused. There was a gust of wind, the candles extinguished, and a dark shape was silhouetted against the glow.

Black's head emerged, and then his shoulders, and they began to fall. The candles were knocked over and melted wax spilled onto the floor. Harry dropped from his perch and his talons gripped Black's shoulders and he pulled his godfather out, tears dripping from the eyes of the phoenix and onto Black. Black looked at Severus and blinked.

"Snivellous?" his voice was raspy with disuse. He gave Severus a perplexed look, "Why is there a phoenix in Hell?"

Severus snorted and Black fainted just as Harry was transforming back into human form. Only Black would come back from the dead, see Severus, and automatically assume he was in Hell, the dumb mutt.

Severus noted a large tattoo of a grim on Black's back. Remus had been accurate in his description; James was a horrid artist. There was a moment's jealousy as Harry fell to the floor and pulled Black into his lap with that odd strength that was so out of place in his small frame, crying and cradling the naked, unconscious man.

"Sirius," Harry sobbed, "I'm so sorry Siri... so sorry."

He closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breathe to cleanse himself of the tightness in his chest. Harry's tremendous guilt complex would never fade away, no matter what they told him. It was one of the only areas where Charlie had made no progress. Harry still blamed himself for so many things over which he had no control.

"Harry," Severus knelt next to them and placed a hand on his shoulder, "he can't hear you. We need to get him in a bed and see if Poppy can look him over."

The next thing he knew they were in a guest bedroom in Potter Manor, the gold room, and Harry was still nodding. The slight man lifted his godfather with an ease that would shock anyone who didn't know what he was. The combination of his animagus form and the dragon blood in his veins gave Harry strength beyond what he should have. He gently lowered Black onto the bed and whistled three notes softly.

"How can Tawney help Master Harry," a bobbing house-elf appeared. Harry had tried to stop them from calling him 'Master' but hadn't succeeded.

"Tell Charlie we're here," Harry said softly, "and then go to Hogwarts and ask Poppy Pomfrey to come here for Sirius."

"Master Sirius?" Tawney jumped up to see Black on the bed and tears came to the elf's eyes. It nearly started wailing, "Tawney thought Master Sirius died!"

"Tawney?" Harry looked at the elf with raised eyebrows.

That was all it took for the elf to collect itself and disappear with a crack softer than that of an apparating wizard. Only moments later Charlie came into the room at a quick pace, having sensed from some other room of the house that Harry needed him. He walked over to Harry and embraced him from behind. Harry visibly relaxed as he leaned back into the arms of his bonded.

"I never got a chance to meet him before," Charlie said into Harry's hair.

Harry smiled softly, "I can't wait for him to meet you." He reached inside his robes and pulled out one of the Order phones, flipping it open in a practiced move and pressing a combination of keys. "Cyclops?... Do me a favor... Yeah, he's here, unconscious... that's right... go to Moony's, and if Tawney shows up think of something to stop him from telling... Poppy's on her way... I'll call when he's awake... See you then."

"Tawney would never disobey a Potter," Severus said with a raised eyebrow. He was very tired from the ritual, but he had been worse off. He could stay awake until it was finished, until they knew Black would be well.

"I never told him specifically _not_ to tell Remus," Harry shook his head. "House-elves are tricky. If something is not strictly forbidden, and they want to tell badly enough they will. Otherwise, Dobby would never have been able to tell me about the Chamber opening."

"Harry Potter, what is your elf trying to tell me," Poppy's voice preceded her up the stairs. She came through the door in full matron mode, "If you weren't my favorite patient I would have sent that elf straight back to tell you to..."

Her mouth dropped open when she saw the man on the bed, completely missing the smirks on the three other men in the room. Severus walked over to her, took her arm, and led her to the bed.

"We are in need of your expertise Poppy," Severus said in his most pleasant tone, one that Poppy most likely had never heard before. He was almost always irritated or worried when he saw her, and she had been the target of his ire, and expansive vocabulary, many times. "As you can see Black is not quite as dead as previously assumed."

She blinked and gave him a sharp look, "Severus Snape wipe that look off your face. You are not too old for me to insist on checking you over as well. Your own magic levels are seriously depleted. What did you do?"

"He gave me back my godfather Poppy," Harry reminded the nurse of her patient in a small voice, one that none of them could resist. "Please help us."

"Of course Harry," Poppy mussed his hair and kissed his cheek. She then began casting her diagnostic spells while mumbling to herself.

Severus just shook his head at Harry, who grinned sheepishly. He had the Hogwarts nurse wrapped around his finger, along with the majority of the school's staff and a good number of the worldwide population of wizards and witches. All he had to do was open his eyes wide and smile shyly and he got anything he wanted.

It was better than the alternative. Harry could easily become a Dark Lord to rival Voldemort and Grindelwald combined should he choose. After all, Harry needed no transformation which sacrificed portions of his soul to become immortal. He was born a phoenix, able to die and be reborn an infinite number of times.

"He needs food, sleep, water, and a few vials of Replenisher," Poppy announced. "Of course, I'm sure he needed the first three before he fell behind that veil. Otherwise he is in perfect form. Start him on soft, easily digestible foods." Harry was on the receiving end of a sharp look, "_You_ should already know well exactly what types of food to give him."

"Yes Poppy," Harry smiled, but Severus saw just the slightest tightening of his muscles. Charlie's stance changed automatically to soothe Harry.

"I have to get back," Poppy gave Severus a smug look. "I'll make your excuses for this afternoon's meeting, as I am sure you neglected to tell Minerva you would be absent."

Severus nearly groaned. He did not want to be indebted to Poppy, however mildly, but it was a sacrifice he would make for Harry.

"He should wake up fairly soon," Poppy sighed and brushed back the former convict's hair, "and he'll probably be disoriented. I recommend only one shocking bit of news at a time. He shouldn't be getting too agitated."

Severus couldn't stop himself from snorting again, "In that case he should never wake up."

Harry's half-laugh and Poppy's glare at them both made Severus's smirk widen on his face. Charlie just watched them all in silent amusement. The dragon handler was often relegated to such a position, but he didn't seem to mind. As soon as Poppy was out of the room Harry took out his phone again.

"Bring him over... not yet... soon... okay," Harry flipped the phone closed and stashed it in a pocket. He stepped forward, out of Charlie's arms, and sat on the edge of the bed, his hand lightly resting on Black's arm. The redhead stayed close, keeping in physical contact. Harry's emotions must have been even more fragile just then than Severus had thought. "Could you meet them Dad, and prepare Remus?"

Severus nodded, and gave Harry a quick kiss on his forehead before leaving the room and heading down the stairs. He waited in the great room for the flare of the fireplace and the emergence of two wizards who were like family, and in a sense were family.

"What is going on?" Remus asked shrewdly. "First One-Eye here shows up with no reason, then he orders Tawney to shut up and go home the instant he popped into my house, and now Harry sends for us. He's always had secrets, I know that, but Harry's been keeping something big from me."

Severus should have known the werewolf suspected something. With his senses it would difficult not to see a conspiracy around him, "No one told you Remus, because we didn't want you to hope in vain. Harry, Charlie, and I were the only ones who knew. I have no idea when Junior found out."

Davey rolled his eyes. Severus and Remus almost never used his actual name, and Severus was sure that James and Black had forgotten it eventually, knowing the younger man only as Cyclops. Severus and Remus had added on at least a dozen other nicknames that referenced Davey's encounter with the Whomping Willow when he was twelve.

"Harry told me last night." He patted his pocket, "we have some business to take care of as well."

Remus only gave Severus a piercing stare, "What is it Severus?"

"The mutt is in a bed upstairs," Severus almost didn't have time to finish his words.

In a matter of seconds Remus's eyes widened, his sniffed the air deeply, and he took off towards the room Black was in, flat out running. Severus didn't even bother to chase as he knew he could never catch a determined werewolf.

Remus was frozen in the doorway when Severus and Davey got there. The way he was looking at the bed reminded him of how Remus had examined Harry after he had been injured by Death Eaters and a variety of dark creatures at the end of his sixth year. The werewolf was restraining himself from literally going over every inch of his injured pack member and assessing the level of injury for himself.

"He'll be fine," Severus said quietly, knowing Remus would hear him anyway. "Poppy was already here. He should wake up soon."

Remus spun and Severus saw the tears falling unheeded. Before he knew it he was wrapped in a suffocating hug, wondering if Remus was going to bruise his ribs in his enthusiasm. Severus refused to admit to himself how much he enjoyed the hug.

"Thank you Severus," Remus's voice wavered. "Thank you."

_Gryffindors,_ Severus thought to himself with much less distaste than intended, _I'm surrounded, and I had to go and add another._

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	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

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The look on Remus's face was heart wrenching. Harry did his best to close himself off from the strong emotions the werewolf was projecting... the almost desperate longing was so powerful. He was sure that Remus didn't know how forcefully he sent out his feelings and Harry couldn't bring himself to say anything. There were just some things that Remus had no control over. Harry hated that it meant he had to limit his contact with the werewolf.

"Concentrate, love," Charlie whispered in his ear. Harry did. He closed his eyes and felt the calming presence of his bondmate protecting him, keeping his barriers intact. Charlie's arms were wrapped around him, as if by physically surrounding Harry he could enhance the mental shielding he made possible.

Harry breathed deeply and focused inward, bringing his barriers to their strongest level. Charlie was right, he had to concentrate. Remus now would be nothing compared to when Sirius woke. The emotions that would be all over the room then would be unbearable if he didn't block it out.

"I will be back at Hogwarts."

"Dad?" Harry snapped his head towards the door. Charlie's hand lingered on his back as he went to talk to his father.

Snape was hiding his emotions, and Harry was blocking as well as he could, but he could still feel the uncertainty.

"I should not be here when Black comes around," Snape said firmly.

Harry nodded in agreement. If Sirius wasn't supposed to be too exited, then Snape was the last person he should see. The explanations surrounding that situation were going to be hard enough as it was.

"He won't take me away from you," Harry said softly, and by the slight facial twitch he had guessed correctly. He put a hand on Snape's arm, "Sirius is my godfather, and the first person to ever care for me like a parent does, but I barely know him. He was just there for me when no one else was. You are my father. You've saved my life a dozen times, reached into hell and pulled me out, and I love you. It would take a lot more than Sirius to change that."

Despite the incredible improvement in their relationship since Snape discovered the memory charm and had Albus remove it, there would probably always be a hint of their history, a small fear that the other would return to the harsh near hatred that existed between them in years past. The occasional, and usually explosive fights that sometimes erupted between them did nothing to help.

Snape nodded, one swift jerk of his head, and gave Harry a quick, tight hug before he left the room and headed down the stairs towards the Floo. Harry watched until he was out of sight and sighed. He knew that in the years of researching to find a way to bring Sirius back, Snape had faced some of his own demons and his immense dislike of Sirius had faded somewhat.

Sirius, however, was an unknown quantity. He might have been entirely aware of the goings on in the wizarding world while he was trapped behind the veil, or he might wake not knowing that so much as a day had passed.

It was also possible that the veil was worse than Azkaban, that he would have faced seven more years of torture. The man lying on the bed in the gold bedroom might be very different than the man who had hid in a cave in Harry's fourth year and spent a year trapped in his childhood home at Albus's command.

Harry was getting worried again. He had gone over the possibilities hundreds of times, all the 'what ifs'. They had Sirius's body back, but his mind could have irreparable damage. They may have ripped him from some place where he was happy only to consign him to mental anguish. He could have been in some sort of hell, or something very like heaven.

"Harry," Charlie's voice interrupted Harry's spiraling doubts, slicing through the knotted rope of his dark thoughts like the legendary sword of Alexander the Great.

He turned around and saw that the others in the room were crowding the bed. Harry's heart quickened and he crossed the room quickly. Charlie took his hand and squeezed as Sirius turned and groaned. Eyes fluttered open and they all waited, silent, to see what sort of shape he was in.

"Remus? Harry?" Sirius tried to sit up but his arms were not strong enough to support him. Remus helped him up and propped some pillows behind his back before hugging his packmate tightly. Sirius returned the hug as well as he could but he clearly had almost no strength. "What did that bitch hit me with?"

"Just a stunner Siri," Harry said with what he hoped was an encouraging smile. "It's what happened after that you want to know."

Sirius closed his eyes tightly for a moment, then opened them again and looked around the room, or at least at the people around his bed, "That you Cyclops? Haven't seen you in... You have to be a Weasley. Harry... you look... different. What the hell is going on?"

"It's a long story Padfoot," Remus sounded close to either tears or laughter, or more likely both. "For eight years we've thought you were dead. You fell behind that veil."

"I...," Sirius wiped his hand across his eyes. "I remember Bella... and she hit me with a curse... and I was falling... but then it's all black. It's been eight years?"

It could have been better, but it could also have been much, much worse. Harry was glad that his godfather was at least as mentally sound as he had been when he fell, though Snape might argue that wasn't very sound to begin with. Harry had been prepared to have to invade his mind and try to sort things out and was so beyond thankful that was unnecessary.

"A few months over eight years," Charlie informed their patient. "I'm Charlie by the way."

Sirius nodded slowly, as if thinking hard, "Right... the dragon one?"

"That's me," Charlie grinned and Harry laughed. There was a lot to fill Sirius in on. The next few weeks would be very interesting.

"It's good to have you back Sirius," Davey smiled and caught Harry's eye over the bed. "I'll go get some food."

Harry nodded, "There should be a good stock of potions too. Grab some Replenisher, maybe some Pepper-Up and a few nutrient potions too. Tawney knows where they all are."

"Good Dreams will be needed too," Charlie called after the departing Junior Marauder.

"Eight years," Sirius's eyes looked unfocused. "Harry... that would make you... twenty-three?"

"Twenty-four," Harry replied. "It's August Twentieth, and you don't need to worry about being seen or the war. Voldemort is dead and your name was cleared almost seven years ago now."

Sirius seemed to be digesting the information, "Where are we?"

"Don't you recognize the room?" Remus was looking better than Harry had ever seen him. He had a glimmer in his eye that was entirely new for Harry and he guessed it was his Marauder side peeking out.

"It... it can't be...," Sirius gripped his sheets and blinked again. "It's too close. Harry... did you rebuild it... is it...?"

"This is Potter Manor Padfoot," Harry wanted to comfort his godfather but didn't dare touch him. "The ruins you saw were a complex illusion from an ancient spell placed by the Potters that first lived at Godric's Hollow. The Manor never fell."

Davey came back with a tray of food and several potions. Harry picked up a nutrient potion, Pepper-Up, Replenisher, and one that settled upset stomachs. It was useful as a preventative measure and if Sirius was anything like Harry he would need it.

"Drink," Harry commanded in the voice he used with his kids when they were being stubborn.

Sirius looked slightly taken aback but obeyed Harry. When he finished the potions and only a thin trickle of steam continued to leak out of his ears he looked much improved. His color was coming back and he perked up a bit.

The tray of food was set in front of him and Sirius frowned grumpily when saw it was only a bowl of broth, some crackers, and a cup of water.

"Just eat Padfoot," Remus smiled and shook his head. He was clearly thrilled to have his best friend back. Harry doubted that even the full moon could bring the werewolf down just then.

"Can't I have some real food?" Sirius whined.

Harry raised his eyebrows and the others snickered, "You're lucky you get that. You haven't eaten in eight years, and whatever you were cooking yourself before then remains questionable."

"This coming from the man who had four cups of coffee and a single piece of toast for breakfast," Charlie teased him.

Harry pouted and huffed, "I was nervous. It's not everyday you sneak into the Ministry to perform an untested ritual on a magical artifact that is still being researched after over a hundred years."

"And your excuse for yesterday?" Charlie lifted his eyebrows at Harry.

"How do you know what I had for breakfast yesterday?" Harry frowned. It was playful banter, but there was an undercurrent of real concern. Harry had a tendency to go without food whenever he was under stress, which was often, and Charlie always tried to keep him eating.

"I have my ways," Charlie said mysteriously.

Harry just shook his head, "Carver and Draco are conspiring against me."

It was the only explanation, as Carver was the only one who had seen him eat that morning, and Draco was the only one who had talked to Charlie. Charlie just smirked, confirming Harry's guess. Of course, it could have been the house elves. They were always overlooked.

"What am I missing?" Sirius looked beyond confused, and Remus and Davey were holding back laughter. "Who is Carver? The only Draco I know of is a Malfoy so it can't be him. And since when do you drink coffee?"

"You eat, we'll talk," Remus said sternly. "No questions until you eat Padfoot."

"Fine Moony," Sirius began lifting spoonfuls of broth, and after the first he ate quickly.

Harry gave a subtle flick of the wrist and there were suddenly three comfortable chairs for the four of them, one of them rather large. He started the tale, giving the basic outline of the past seven years but leaving out several crucial elements. He did not tell Sirius that he had tried to kill himself, or that Snape was his father. None of them told him that Remus almost died or that he had taken the Elixir of Life, and Cyclops probably still didn't know about that. Harry did not mention his capture by Death Eaters, his animagus form, or his own brushes with death.

The expressions as the ex-convict illegal animagus ate were amusing. When he was told that Harry had four children he spat out a mouthful of broth, 'Prongs is a grandfather!' He grinned at Charlie when that relationship was explained and his jaw dropped opened when they told him Harry killed Voldemort.

"You left a lot out," Sirius said plainly.

Harry nodded and all of them looked a bit uncomfortable, "Eight years is a long time Sirius, and Poppy said not to get you too excited."

"What's more exciting than you killing Voldemort?" Sirius looked like he couldn't fathom what had been left out.

Remus had his Marauder glint again, "Well... You have the Order of Merlin First Class."

Sirius spluttered, "What?"

"They _had _given it to Pettigrew posthumously," Davey explained with a grin, "but when your name was cleared that was revoked and the Ministry awarded it to you. I think they were trying to placate Harry."

"It comes with a seat on the Wizengamot too," Harry smirked, "and with the International Confederation of Wizards."

Sirius looked dumbstruck, "There's more?"

"Not now," Harry said, not only for Sirius's sake. He wasn't ready for all the animosity between Sirius and his father to rear its ugly head. A vial of Good Dreams was handed to him and he pressed it towards Sirius, "Get some sleep. You need it."

Sirius just nodded, still somewhat dazed, and drank the potion. He looked at Harry as his eyes started to blink with heavy sleep, "How did you get me out?"

"Snape," Harry replied, and a look of astonishment graced Sirius's face before he fell asleep. Harry's breathing felt labored. Fully blocking his senses was tiring and strained him. It was almost like walking around with a blindfold and cotton stuffed in his ears and always left him tense and a little shaken.

Charlie turned him around and held him, smoothing his back, "You did well."

"I'll stay with him," Remus said, his voice choking slightly. "Thank you Harry."

"It was all Dad," Harry replied, his voice slightly muffled by Charlie's chest. "He did all the research, designed the ritual, and performed it. I just transformed and sang, and helped pull him out when he showed."

"Get some rest Harry," Remus directed. "I doubt you got much last night."

Harry could feel Charlie smirking and lightly slapped his arm. No matter how shielded Harry was he could never block out Charlie. Their shared magic made barriers between them impossible.

"Not yet," Harry sighed. He straightened and looked over to Davey, "You have whatever it is you need to show me?"

Davey nodded, "Your study?"

"Yeah," Harry wiped his face and ran his hands through his hair. Charlie followed them out. It was always accepted that Charlie would sit in on some of these meetings, especially if Harry needed the grounding. He was one of the few non-Unspeakables, possibly the only one that could enter the Department of Mysteries any time he wanted. He had to have that access if Harry needed him.

They seated themselves in soft leather chairs around a solid table of mahogany covered in a soft deep green cloth. The study had always belonged to the Head of the Potter Family, and Harry had changed very little from how his father and grandfather had arranged the room. The table and chairs were one of his additions. Davey took out a small object wrapped in fabric.

He placed it in the middle of the circular table and gently folded back the wrapping to reveal a rough stone that did not look at all special to the casual eye, about the size of a tangerine but apparently much heavier. Harry almost immediately felt ill. His stomach lurched, his throat tightened, and a pounding began behind his eyes.

"We were digging in Iraq," Davey explained. "I got this strong sense of revulsion when we hit this one room and there was a high level of dark magic coming from it." Davey paused for a moment. He was skilled at detecting dark magic and had gone through all the curse breaker training at Gringotts before he got his muggle degree in Archaeology. "I traced the source of the dark magic to this stone."

Harry took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He focused and felt Charlie place a hand on his back. He needed it then, his own emotions still a mess with the return of his godfather. When he was centered and his barrier against seeing the magic that surrounded him was lowered he opened his eyes.

He instantly saw what Davey was talking about. His stomach heaved again and Charlie threw the fabric back over it. Still he could see the black currents swirling around the stone through the cloth and the nausea pressed. Harry stood swiftly and pulled some thick raw silk out of a drawer. For some reason the fabric was the best at muting magical currents. Robes were never made out of silk for that reason.

"I don't know what it is," Harry struggled to gather himself again, "but it's darker than almost anything else I've ever seen."

Coming from Harry Potter, that was a significant statement. He closed his eyes and gripped Charlie's hand like a lifeline, being very careful not to squeeze too hard and hurt him. It was going to take hours before he was settled again. There had just been too much that day.

"I'm sorry," Davey said compassionately. "What do you want me do with it?"

"Keep it safe," Harry said, swallowing back the bile that had crept up. "I can't have it here. Bring it into the office sometime soon and Hestia and Nico can check it out. If they need me I'll have to prepare before I examine that thing again. Just... take it away. Keep it away from your kids."

Davey nodded and slipped the stone, keeping it wrapped in the silk, back into his pocket. He left the room quietly and Harry felt the flare of the Floo. He leaned against Charlie, shivering slightly from the absolute foulness of that stone, and the redhead kissed him softly, chastely. Now was not the time to try grounding Harry that way, not with the residue of the darkness clinging to them.

"Let's see if we can get you some sleep."

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	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

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"Proposition one — eight — nine — three — seven — four — zero — zero — zero — three — point — nine — seven," Albus Dumbledore announced to the rest of the Wizengamut, "in regards to the laws concerning dark creatures. Is everyone familiar with the proposal?"

The public only saw the Wizengamut during trials. They were the body that interpreted the laws of the British Ministry, but they also had the power to adjust laws and create new ones, subject to Ministerial approval. With the high qualifications for gaining a position on the Wizengamut, the idea was that the smartest and most powerful of wizards would be the legislative and judicial section of the government all wrapped into one.

That was the idea of course. In the past Galleons had been quite able to purchase legislature or court decisions.

The Wizarding World was not a full democracy, and most of its subjects were perfectly content to have it that way. Most wizards and witches only came in contact with the Ministry a few times in their life, such as to test for an apparition license or hook up their house to the Floo network.

Heads nodded around the table. Unlike what most would expect, the general meeting room for the Wizengamut was simple and homely. Each wizard or witch had a different chair, personally conjured to their liking. It varied from Albus's luridly floral wingback armchair to Zephyr Dodge's sleek steel and black leather director's stool. There were no portraits on the walls for the sake of secrecy. No ghosts could enter the room.

Each witch or wizard also had a cup in front of them, once again conjured by each of them to suit personal tastes. Maxine Reis had a dainty china cup and saucer with pink roses and a pure gold spoon. Harry held a plain dark blue self-refilling coffee mug, identical to the one Charlie had given him six Christmases ago. He had one in each of his offices, one in Romania, one at Potter Manor, and Molly kept one at the Burrow for him.

Harry took a sip of coffee and let the caffeine invigorate him. Why they made these meetings so bloody early in the morning he would never figure out. It always took him at least half-an-hour into the proceedings to fully wake up, much to the amusement of his colleagues. He occasionally had to be nudged to participate in a vote.

As Chief Warlock, Albus had the position of leading the meetings, calling for votes, and the authority to hex anyone who was getting unruly. As Albus tended to be very creative in his hexing the arguments in the room were almost always very restrained and civil.

"The proposition calls for a reexamination of the classification system for dark creatures in general, suggesting a tiered system that allows for several designations under the general classification of 'dark', and a reworking of the laws regarding dark creatures, during which the current laws would be suspended and dark creatures subject to the same laws as any other witch or wizard," Albus said with his usual twinkle. Several of them shifted in their chairs. Whatever they decided, the result was going to be controversial. "Harry, as this is your proposal, why don't you explain."

Harry looked up and blinked, and some of those around him looked at him in surprise. Harry was usually quiet in these meetings, only speaking up in those areas where he was exceptionally well versed, which were few, or to give his vote on some issue.

"The majority of the laws we have that restrict dark creatures were decided almost arbitrarily, over two hundred years ago when we knew much less about them, and mostly based on unsupported fears," Harry's voice was quiet, but clearly heard in the room. "As for the classification, most of the creatures on the Ministry list got there after an attack on a member of some influential family. The laws currently lump all creatures classified as dark into one large group, making the laws regarding basilisks the same as those regarding werewolves, with only a few exceptions, such as the privilege to carry and use a wand."

"But how do you suggest we classify them?" Dodge questioned Harry in his tight nasal voice. "The laws exist to protect our society."

The twinkle in Albus's eyes was accompanied by a wave of amusement. The old wizard had to be looking forward to Harry's reaction to this.

Harry raised a single eyebrow in mimicry of his father, a simple gesture with a strong effect, "I have been in the company of more supposedly 'dark' creatures than any of you would care to meet I am sure, yet have been harmed by only one or two, and then only mildly." The twinkle brightened, probably thinking about the basilisk. "Wizards cause much more harm to other wizards than 'dark creatures' do. I have the scars to prove it."

There was uncomfortable shifting again. Not a wizard or witch alive would debate Harry Potter's knowledge when it came to dark wizards or dark creatures. In the years since his graduation from Hogwarts Harry, working with Hermione and Remus, had published several articles concerning the nature of magic and magical beings. The three of them, or mostly Hermione and Remus, had carefully timed everything to lead up to this moment.

"Dark creatures are a danger to society," Mercedes Carlson, the first member Harry had met after his own induction into the group, protested. She adjusted her gold-rimmed spectacles. "They should not live among us."

"There is a werewolf on staff at Hogwarts now," Albus interjected mildly. He popped a lemon drop in his mouth and offered the dish to the wizards sitting on either side of him. Harry took one with a smile. They were infused with a wit sharpening potion that morning, but with Albus it was always a gamble. His sense of humor was the strangest Harry knew.

Jaws dropped. The people in that room almost never trusted what the _Daily Prophet_ reported, and so had ignored that particular rumor.

"Lupin is not a registered werewolf," said Jenkins with a stern look for his colleagues. "All werewolves are required to register."

"He is registered," Harry interrupted. Heads turned to him. "He was born and bitten in France, and is registered there. Technically he is not a British subject."

Harry took another sip of tea, "Werewolves are a matter of particular concern in my proposal. With the advances made in modern potions, werewolves need not be a danger to anyone. The affliction is now more of a treatable disease. Remus takes the Wolfsbane Potion each month and spends the full moon curled up in front of the fire in a secure location. The transformation remains painful, but not nearly as bad as it once was. Severus Snape has made several advances in that area, and his research is ongoing."

Albus smiled at Harry, "With his potion Remus is harmless. He is lucky to have Severus to brew it for him. If Wolfsbane Potion was made available to more werewolves, even required, it is possible that in a matter of ten or twenty years there would be no more werewolves."

Shock was expressed clearly on the faces around the room and Harry's mind went back to Potter Manor as he sipped at his coffee, waiting for the others to recover and the conversation to continue. The school year at Hogwarts started the next week, and Remus had already reluctantly returned to the castle, a week later than he should have.

Sirius was not yet strong enough to walk around on his own, but he had only been recovering for five days. Harry and Charlie had to return to Romania soon. The children had taken to Sirius quickly, and were in and out of his room all day with toys and their favorite books, demanding that he read to them. Harry had never seen his godfather so happy. He and Charlie were debating what to do with Sirius when they returned to the preserve, and planned on discussing it with him once the children were all in bed that night.

"You want us to just overturn all the old laws?" Mackey said with incredulity.

Harry shook his head, "No. Some of them are valid, like the restrictions on turning new vampires, which every vampire I have met fully agrees with." There was more shock. Most wizards and witches went their entire lives without even meeting a single vampire. Remus had brought Harry to Joseph's home, where he had met dozens.

"Others," Harry continued, "like the law which states that no romantic relationship can exist between a 'dark creature' and a wizard or witch, are ridiculous. There is no foundation other than superstition and baseless fear. No one knows what the result would be if, say, a werewolf and a human procreated, or even if it is possible. The two half-giants I know are both exceedingly gentle, in part _because _of their heritage. They know how our society views them, and do their best to counter that with their actions."

There was a snort, "Giants are all violent."

Harry smirked at the wizard, "I suppose you do not know Rubeus Hagrid at Hogwarts, or Headmistress Maxime at Beauxbatons."

Shock again, and wide blinking eyes were all around the room. Albus smiled mildly, "I suggest we table this discussion until tomorrow to allow everyone some reflection. Keep in mind that our decision will need to go before the International Confederation, as many of the laws concerned are international, not just those of Britain. Now, onto other matters... Cornelius has asked us to consider some nominations for the Order of Merlin, Third Class."

"Who gave him Galleons now?" Jefferson Sandrus, sitting in a blue velvet armchair and drinking from a glass tea cup that rested in a silver holder, said with a snort.

There were snickers around the room and Harry was just glad someone other than him had said it. No one there thought very highly of Cornelius. Those who had previously, like the group that had been influenced by the Minister in regards to Harry's trial, had been disillusioned not long after. Harry wondered absently if he might be the first wizard who had been tried by the Wizengamut, and then joined it. Maybe he would bring it up some day.

"Now Jeff," Albus said in his Headmaster voice, though he was no longer Headmaster. He was still smiling, as he no doubt fully agreed.

"Sorry Albus," Sandrus said in a voice that imitated a student caught in the act, countered by the small grin on his face.

Of all those around him, Sandrus reminded Harry most of Alastor Moody. He was gruff and straight-forward. The man spoke his mind, regardless of the popularity of his opinion. He was a no-nonsense type of wizard. Albus got on surprisingly well with Jefferson Sandrus.

Deliberations lasted until lunchtime and Harry was grateful to leave. Before he did though, he stopped by the Ministry Records room and pulled out a file. He updated the status of Sirius Black from 'deceased' to 'living' and slipped it back in its place, wondering if anyone would notice. He apparated back to the Manor and was met by four children running through the great room at top speed and shrieking.

Sirius was stretched out on an armchair with his legs up on an ottoman. Kat scampered under the bridge made by the ex-convict's long legs, followed by her twin, and Carver jumped over. Erica, the quietest of the four, was the first to notice Harry and she skidded to a halt, falling onto Sirius in the process.

"Daddy!" first one voice, and then three others greeted Harry joyfully.

He soaked up the emotions coming from his children. They were almost always so happy that Harry couldn't help but smile when he was around them. Randy reached him first and squeezed his legs. Within moments all four of them were clinging to him.

Harry ruffled each head of hair and reflected that he finally knew why everyone did the same to him. Both Randy and Kat had inherited the Potter hair, or the Potter Curse as Lily had termed it. Everyone then got a hug and kiss, "Hello Munchkins."

Giggles followed, and the game of tag, or whatever it was they were doing running all over the house, resumed. Rain was beating down heavily, or the whole brood would have been outside.

"Don't I get a hug?" Sirius grinned at him.

Harry laughed, but hugged his godfather, a very quick hug, and sat down on a couch. Charlie would know he was home if he was there, and come in to see him. Harry ignored the questioning look from Sirius. There were still several subjects that hadn't been touched on, like the Dursleys and the details of the war.

"You should come with me next time," Harry said with a smirk. "The shock might actually knock out a few of them."

Sirius laughed, "What do you do there anyway?"

"It's mostly boring now," Harry admitted. "So many dark wizards and witches were killed or caught during the war and in the aftermath that the only trials are for trivial matters. Most of what we do is prevent Fudge from screwing up the government too badly. It took some time for us to reverse nearly everything that Umbridge managed to slip through."

"No exactly a glowing recommendation for my attendance," Sirius grinned and drank from a tea cup he was holding. There was a plate of biscuits next to him as well.

"I could use your vote," Harry smirked and closed his eyes, leaning back. He could feel Charlie getting closer.

"My vote?" Sirius sounded intrigued.

"Yep," Harry said placidly as Charlie entered the room. His bondmate sat next to him and kissed him in greeting. "I'm revolutionizing the official stance on dark creatures."

Harry could almost hear Sirius's jaw drop, and Charlie chuckled.

"Does Remus know?"

"Know?" Harry opened his eyes again. "He did most of the research and wrote the proposal with Hermione as his assistant. My name is on it, or it never would have been considered, but it's his work. I'm just arguing the idea... and taking the credit." Harry had argued against that, but Remus told him he was well used to not being acknowledged for his work. He had more than five pseudonyms for his writings.

"I need a wand first," Sirius grinned, his eyes lighting up with the idea of not only shocking a bunch of people by showing up at a Wizengamut meeting, but also of helping to repeal the laws that made Remus's life so difficult. "It would probably also help if I could walk further than from my room to here."

"Oh yeah, that reminds me," Harry reached into his robes and pulled out a wand, eleven inches, rigid, sandalwood with a dragon heartstring core. He tossed it to Sirius, who caught it with a reverent, disbelieving look on his face.

"I... I thought it was snapped," tears sprang to Sirius's eyes and his cheeks flushed with color. He was examining the wand as though it was the most precious object in the world, and to him it would be. "Harry... I..."

Harry smiled, "As you never had a trial, it was in evidence storage in the Auror Department for years. After your name was cleared Amelia gave it to me."

Charlie wrapped an arm around Harry's shoulders and leaned in, "I think you made his day."

"Try my year, or decade," Sirius pointed the wand around the room, trying a few spells. "The one I was using before was close, but nothing like this. It's like part of my soul has been returned to me."

Harry had never known his godfather to be eloquent. He often forgot about the connection between a wizard and his wand, as he never used his and it was locked away in his study so the kids couldn't get at it except when Harry and Charlie allowed it.

"Lunch in the kitchen?" Charlie suggested.

"Siri?" Harry questioned.

Sirius just nodded vaguely, still in a euphoric haze from getting his wand back. Harry grinned, then felt a shift in the air. He and Charlie both looked up suddenly.

"Floo?" Charlie questioned.

Harry nodded and opened his senses, "Oh hell. They got into it again."

Charlie was up in a snap and dashing up the stairs towards the study, one of two places in the house where the Floo Network was hooked up. Harry let Charlie take care of the situation. He would call for Harry if he needed him.

"What's going on?" Sirius looked up, confused.

Harry was about to explain, when Charlie came back, followed by three sniffling children, "Erica went to Hogwarts."

"Which one?" Harry's eyes widened. They had been concentrating on getting Sirius healthy, waiting to have certain talks when the man was stronger.

Charlie grimaced and Harry winced. He could feel Sirius's curiosity growing. The twins crawled onto the couch and into his lap and Carver tugged on his robes. Harry put an arm around each twin and rubbed their backs. He highly suspected that both of them were Empathic, as both he and Charlie were.

"I'm sorry Daddy," Carver sniffed. "We jus' wanted to see Granddad."

Harry sensed the flare of the Floo again and the entrance into the Manor of two people. There was no time to prepare Sirius. He should have known that one of the kids would slip, or something like this would happen. Sirius's curiosity was growing with each passing moment, and with it Harry's anxiety. Charlie gave Harry a quick kiss and picked up the twins.

"Come with us Carver," Charlie said firmly. "It's time for lunch."

Carver followed with his head bowed, and a pout on his lips. He knew he was in trouble. There were very few places connected to Potter Manor by Floo, but the Potter children were all required to have an adult with them when they traveled, and never to leave the Manor without permission, even just to play outside.

"Did he say Granddad?" Sirius turned to Harry. "I thought Arthur worked at the Ministry."

"He does," Harry winced again. He bit his lips and waited for the explosion. They could already hear Erica crying as she and Snape approached. She had clearly been lectured soundly by the master of lecturing disobedient children.

"I'm sorry Granddad! We jus' wanted to see you!" Erica was in Snape's arms, clinging to his robes as they entered the room, and crying loudly.

"Granddad?" Sirius's face paled. His voice was a harsh whisper. "Snape is Granddad?"

"Wonderful," Snape scowled as he pried the little girl off of his robes and placed her on a couch. "You haven't told him."

"Told me?" Sirius was still pale, and beyond confused at that point. Anger was slowly starting to build and Harry couldn't take it in combination with Erica's unhappiness and guilt, and his father's disapproval. It was more than he could stand. Objects in the room were rattling.

"Stop," Harry said sharply. "Everyone stop." Erica was shocked into silence and Snape's mood quickly shifted to concern. Tawney appeared, having developed a sure sense for the needs of the Potters and Weasley. "Erica go with Tawney. It's lunch time."

"Daddy?" Erica's tears were still falling, but for a different reason now.

"Go Erica," Harry closed his eyes and tried to focus. The room stilled, though several little objects were out of place. "I'm not mad at you sweetie. Tawney?"

"Yes Master Harry," the elf bobbed and started leading the girl away. She broke away and ran to hug Harry. He leaned down and kissed her forehead, trying to reassure her. He needed Charlie there, but knew that his bondmate had his hands full comforting three children, soon a fourth.

When Erica was out of hearing Harry looked up, the anger in the room having grown considerably. Sirius was glaring at Harry's father, who was in turn alternating between glaring back and quite obviously trying not to glare in concern for Harry. The anger was thick, so harsh it was making Harry ill.

Sirius opened his mouth, but shut it after a sharp look from Harry. A quick sense of pleading sent to Snape was enough to replace his scowl with his expressionless mask. They had attributed Snape's ability to pick up on Harry's Empathy to their bond, but that was gone. Harry suspected his father had just enough of his own to feel it when Harry was projecting.

"I must return to Hogwarts immediately," Snape said coolly, his upset not showing at all. "I will be available should you need me."

With a flourish of his cloak Snape was at the fireplace and very quickly out of the Manor, towards Highland Cottage and Hogwarts. Sirius was blinking rapidly, his face still pale, and his emotions all over the place. Harry detected confusion, anger, discomfort, frustration, and hurt. Harry fought to block himself off fully.

"What is going on here?" Sirius said tightly. "I know you can't tell me everything that happened in eight years in only a few days, but Harry...," his voice turned pleading. "I don't understand. You hated Snape."

"I did," Harry agreed, not sure how to start.

"But not anymore," Sirius said quietly, the hurt coming through stronger than before. Harry knew what his godfather suspected, that Harry had turned to Snape with Sirius gone and his godfather position had been usurped. "What would James think?"

"Don't you dare," Harry hissed, no longer caring that Sirius was confused and hurt. "Don't you dare try to make me feel guilty. You did that enough my fifth year and I will not let you do it again. I am not my father, and I never will be, and it is time you accepted that."

Sirius was dumbstruck, as if he had forgotten Harry was grown now. He stared with his eyes wide and his mouth open, but no sound emerging.

Harry started out of the room, Sirius's accusation giving him the perfect solution. He had been debating how to tell his godfather, and now he knew. He wouldn't be the one to tell anything. It wasn't his responsibility.

He was already on the stairs and he looked back to see Sirius hadn't moved, and snapped, knowing he sounded rather Snape-ish, "Are you coming?"

Sirius nodded and slowly got up from his chair. He walked across the room as if moving through some highly viscous fluid, but Harry refused to help. At that moment he had no sympathy for his godfather. If Sirius wanted his strength back he would have to work for it. Merlin knew Harry had gone through the same enough times.

Harry led him to the portrait room and stepped inside. He held his hands up and silently cast a series of spells, the only visible result being the chair that popped into existence in front of the portraits of his parents. Harry pointed, and Sirius went in to sit down.

His whole face lit up, as if the past fifteen minutes hadn't happened, "Prongs!"

"Padfoot!" James Potter's voice replied, carrying over all the portraits that began speaking. Harry realized then that Sirius hadn't known about the portraits. "Harry, what in the name of Merlin...?"

Harry's glare silenced every portrait, "None of you can move from your frames or go to sleep, and Sirius can't get within six inches of any portrait." Harry waved his hand and two rolls of parchment appeared that he handed to Sirius, who instantly recognized James's handwriting. "Have Brenna tell me when you're done."

There was no response, as Harry didn't wait for one. He stalked out of the room and locked the door shut. It took several minutes to get even close to composing himself before he went into the kitchen to join his family.

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	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

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Sirius woke with a pounding headache. That wasn't really unusual since he had been pulled out of the veil, by _Snape_. He shuddered. It was a week since Erica had gotten into the Floo powder. (And Sirius was still relieved to find out she had been adopted. If she wasn't, or more so if Carver wasn't, then that would have meant Harry had been a Dad at only fifteen, and Sirius was alive then.) It had been a week since James confessed, and Sirius was still trying to wrap his head around everything.

How had he been left so far behind?

James had fallen in love, with _two_ people, bonded with both of them and had a child, who was now grown with his own children. Remus had created spells, written books, and broken the one-year-only-Defense-Against-the-Dark-Arts-Professor curse. Even Peter had grown up and made adult decisions. He had betrayed first his friends, and then the Death Eaters, and he had killed Lucius Malfoy for Merlin's sake... to save _Snape_!

And Harry... little emotional Harry was a man. Harry, who had needed Sirius more than anyone else ever had, who had looked up to him, had grown beyond him. Harry didn't need a father figure anymore, and he had Snape for that if he ever did again. Merlin, Harry was a father. Harry had his own family, multiple careers, and he owned his own school. That had thrown Sirius for a loop. All those children he had known were adults now.

Then there was Sirius. He had been rushing headlong into one dangerous situation after another ever since that Halloween. Even before then really, as an Auror. He had been seen as reckless by his superiors. It was on at least one review that was probably still in the Ministry archives somewhere.

Somehow, everyone around Sirius had grown up, and Sirius had not. Sure, he could blame Azkaban, but it had started before then. He could trace it back to fifth year really, when everything started to fall apart, and he had gone and made it all worse. If it weren't for James, Sirius knew, he would have landed himself in an Azkaban cell long before he finally did, and he would have actually deserved it. He was under no delusion concerning his guilt from that spring.

He sighed, and pulled himself out of bed. It had taken the better part of two weeks, but Sirius was finally decreed healthy again, granted that he continued to eat well. There was quite an obsession with food around him. Everyone watched what Harry ate, and there had to be a story behind that. Harry watched what Sirius ate. And the children barely looked at their food before inhaling it as rapidly as possible, and that was the most normal eating habit in the house.

They were all headed back for Romania the next night. Randy, who had hardly spoken a word to Sirius, was suddenly more talkative than any of his siblings when that was announced two days ago. The four-year-old had pulled out a pile of books on dragons and proceeded to thoroughly educate Sirius on the types of dragons and their habits. Hearing all those complicated, technical words coming out of such a little mouth was amazing. Harry and Charlie had only smiled fondly and exchanged a knowing look.

His teeth brushed, clothes on, his hair in place, and his wand... his original, precious wand... tucked in his sleeve, and Sirius was ready for the day. He had agreed to join Harry's family in Romania until he figured out what he was going to do with himself. Sirius supposed he could rejoin the Auror Corp, but he didn't think that was what he wanted. There was not a chance in hell he was going back to his mother's house, and besides, it belonged to Remus now.

Sirius walked out of his room, expecting to hear the loud sounds of small children, but there was quiet. They could all be outside already. Sirius was a late riser, and had always been that way. Remus had literally dragged him out of bed more than once in their Hogwarts years.

There was strong sunlight pouring in the windows, and Sirius peeked outside. Sure enough, all four kids were running around on the grass, two house elves in attendance. Harry and Charlie were nowhere to be seen.

The Manor was exactly like he remembered it, or almost exactly. There were more children there, so several of the rooms had been changed into bedrooms for small children. There were more toys all over the place, and new pictures, and several blankets strewn about that practically screamed Molly Weasley made them. Sirius winced. That was one witch he was not looking forward to seeing. No doubt he was in for a lecture, or at least a scolding.

Personally, he figured losing another eight years of his life, making twenty in total now, was enough punishment for recklessly running off to the Ministry to save Harry. In retrospect he knew the Order hadn't needed him to go, but _Sirius_ had needed to go, needed to be there for Harry. And as a result he wasn't there for Harry for eight years.

It was amazing Harry had actually wanted him back.

Sirius wandered through the library, giving the books no more than a cursory glance. He had some reading to do, learning about everything that had happened without him, brushing up on his spells, but it could wait a bit. Sirius had never liked studying.

He was in the Master tower, the domain of the Head of Potter, now Harry. He had been there once already, in the portrait room, for many hours. Lily had scolded him, Sirius had thrown a fit, James had laughed his ass off at him... just like old times.

This time Sirius just wandered, trying to get a better feel for the grown-up Harry. His godson was so _different_ from what he remembered. When he last saw Harry the boy was only fifteen, a very angry and confused fifteen. Now he was an adult, but there was a lot that was a mystery. Many things were being hid from Sirius, and Harry was central to all of them he suspected. Snape had only been the tip of the proverbial iceberg.

He noticed a strange glow coming from under a door. If he remembered correctly, that door had led to a closet sized room that Viviane had used as a darkroom, preferring to develop her own film rather than leaving it to the elves. Sirius tried the handle, but the door was locked. He looked at it for a long time, intrigued by the glow. He didn't want to intrude on Harry's privacy, and perhaps shatter the fragile peace between them.

"You won't be able to open it," Sirius jumped at the sound of Charlie's voice, deeper than Harry's, yet lighter, as if he was younger of the two rather than eight years Harry's senior.

"Charlie," Sirius pressed his hand to his chest. "You almost gave me a coronary. I hadn't decided to try yet."

Charlie just grinned. Sirius wondered, not for the first time, how the two of them had gotten together and Harry had gotten interested in dragons. All he had been told was that Harry visited Romania the summer before his sixth year. No one told him why Harry was there, when Dumbledore wouldn't even let Harry come to London the year before until he was attacked by dementors.

Hissing sounds came from Charlie's mouth and Sirius's jaw dropped, "I thought... Harry..."

"He taught me those few words, and even that took forever, and I have no idea what it means," Charlie's smile was a little embarrassed, as if he had more of an idea than he was saying. "It's the only way to open this door, and only Harry, Severus, and I can."

"Not Remus?" Sirius was still trying to figure out exactly where everyone fit in, including his only remaining friend.

Charlie shook his head and pushed the door open, "No. There's an illusion over the room so he never sees this. He'd have a fit if he knew it was here, and would demand an oath out of Harry never to use it on him. He thinks it's still a darkroom and keeps his distance because of the smells."

Sirius felt his mind spinning in confusion as he stepped into the red glow. Wonderment filled him. The only thing in the room was the largest flask he had ever seen, filled with a red luminescent liquid. It bathed the whole room in red. If there had ever been another color in the room, Sirius wouldn't know. He looked down at the clothing he was wearing. What had been a medium blue pair of jeans and black shirt, both actually belonging to Bill Weasley, were now red.

"What is it?" Sirius asked reverently.

"The Elixir of Life," Charlie answered solemnly.

Sirius turned to the redhead, whose hair now looked as if it was on fire, and gaped.

"Nicholas and Perenelle Flamel died a few years ago," Charlie explained softly. "They met Harry during his seventh year at Hogwarts and trusted him not to use it selfishly. There's enough here that they could have lived for another hundred years, but for some reason they chose not to. This was left to Harry in their will."

Charlie led Sirius out of the room and closed the door behind them. Sirius felt a flare of magic, probably the ward resetting itself when the door closed, and he gave Charlie a puzzled look, "Where is Harry?"

"The Ministry," Charlie replied shortly. "He had planned to bring you, but he's not really up for surprises right now."

"Charlie...," Sirius hesitated. He figured he could trust this man, as Harry clearly did, but he didn't know him, not really.

"It's no surprise you're confused Sirius," Charlie saved him the trouble, and Sirius looked at him again in amazement. How had Charlie known..., "I'm an Empath, and so is Harry. We suspect the twins are developing that talent." Sirius blinked. It explained a lot really, but it was just one thing after another here. "Come with me Sirius. You deserve a few explanations, and I figure I'm the only one who can give them right now."

That was surely interesting. Sirius just nodded and followed the shorter wizard outside. They sat on a patio at a wrought iron table with a glass top, and Charlie sent Tanwey for tea and a light breakfast for Sirius. Down a slope of grass the children continued to run around. They had a few toys strewn about them on the lawn and the two elves continued to watch over them.

"Coming here is like a holiday for them," Charlie had that light in his eyes that Sirius remembered seeing in James after Harry was born. "We can't have elves on the preserve. One of them tried it once, and the dragons ate them." Sirius cringed, and then wondered if Harry had ever told Hermione that story. That prompted him to wonder what Hermione was up to, and Ron, and Ginny, and the twins, and everyone else he knew.

Food arrived, and Sirius ate his solitary fried egg before munching on some toast. The pumpkin juice was just like they made it at Hogwarts. He moved on to devour several slices of perfect bacon before starting the talk he had been waiting for.

"What do they do there?" Sirius questioned.

"Harry mostly takes care of them," Charlie responded with a grin. "The other handlers all pitch in, especially when we need Harry for something." Sirius raised his eyebrows. "They understand Parseltongue... the dragons. It's how we know the kids are safe there. There isn't a dragon alive who would even dream of hurting Harry, or anyone important to him."

"Wow," Sirius was dumbstruck, and glad he was hearing about this before seeing it firsthand.

"That was pretty much my reaction too," Charlie looked reminiscent. "Harry had no idea what he was doing. Sometimes the Parseltongue just slips out, and he has no clue that he's speaking another language. He was trying to comfort some injured juveniles, and just started hissing at them. It was even more surprising when they suddenly calmed down and stared at him with rapt attention."

Sirius finished off his pumpkin juice and reminded himself why they were out on the patio together. Charlie sipped at his tea and had at least one eye on the children at all times, regardless of the house elves in attendance.

"What happened to Harry?" Sirius asked with a bit of reservation. Now that he had a definite source for his answers he wasn't sure he wanted to hear.

"Too much," Charlie's reminiscent look vanished, and Sirius saw pain in the blue eyes that were several shades darker than his own. "War, death, love... it all changed him. The Harry I met in his first and fourth years at Hogwarts is gone. There are little pieces of him left, but he's different now."

"I got that much," Sirius tried to urge the redhead forward. "It's like the Harry I knew is muted somewhat, most of the time anyway."

Charlie nodded, "Yeah. It could seem that way." Sirius was confused again. "Empathy, remember? I always know what he's feeling. He can hide from everyone except me." Charlie turned and looked straight at Sirius, holding his eyes in a stern gaze, "There is a lot about Harry you don't know, that you never knew. Some of it I can tell you, because he never will and you deserve to know."

"I won't tell anyone," Sirius promised, and then was confused once again at the smile on Charlie's face.

"Nearly anyone you would tell knows already," Charlie told him, and Sirius was startled. "That's one reason he'll never say anything. He just knows that we'll take care of it for him." Charlie drank some tea again, and leaned back in his chair. "I guess I should start when you met him after you escaped. Did you ever wonder Sirius, why Harry was so eager to go live you, a man he had been convinced only an hour before was responsible for the deaths of his parents?"

"At the time I was too happy that he said yes," Sirius admitted sheepishly. "It didn't occur to me to wonder why then. Later I just figured that he couldn't stand the Dursleys. They were pretty awful muggles."

"They were beyond awful Sirius," Charlie's jaw tightened in an anger that was clearly not fully resolved. "I grew up surrounded by love and caring. With my talents I knew that more surely than any other child. Harry was surrounded by resentment and hate, and his Empathy is much stronger than mine, which by the way is one reason he hates being touched. You'll probably never see, but his whole upper body is a mess of scar tissue. There's a smattering from dragons and Death Eaters, quidditch and things like that, but a good quantity from the Dursleys as well."

Sirius felt all the blood drain out his face, "They hurt him?"

"Emotionally, it was constant," Charlie nearly growled, and Sirius wondered how much time Remus spent with them. "He was their house-elf, and his cousin's punching bag. He was neglected and starved. His aunt and uncle only rarely touched him, and then only to slap him or shake him."

"Ah, that's why," Sirius had a short moment of enlightenment and a wave of guilt that ate away at him like acid. "I wondered why you all watch him like a hawk when he eats." For some reason Charlie burst out laughing. "What?"

"Hawk...," Charlie got himself under control. "It's my other form."

Sirius felt a twinge of excitement, "Can Harry?"

Charlie nodded and the expression on his face was so close to what James had whenever he was about to prank someone, "He's a phoenix."

"His animagus form is a phoenix?" Sirius felt his jaw drop. He could easily say he knew more about the animagus transformation than the vast majority of witches and wizards, and he _knew_ that there had never been a known animagus with a magical animal form. The Marauders had thought it impossible.

"Not really," Charlie explained slowly, as if picking his words carefully. "It's not like a secondary form. Harry _is_ a phoenix. He's died and been reborn twice that we know of." Sirius just couldn't absorb that. When had Harry died? "I'm getting off track here."

"I wouldn't say so," Sirius managed to choke out.

Charlie just drank some tea, though now that Sirius looked close and actually smelled it, it was coffee not tea. He noticed that Harry drank quite a bit of coffee as well. That made one more thing about Harry that was totally unlike James.

"The Dursleys," Charlie took up his narrative again, "vowed to squash the magic out of Harry, and to some extent they succeeded. Harry blocked up his magic starting around the time he was two, we think. If he had been less powerful, he would have been deemed a squib and sent home from Hogwarts. Enough magic leaked through that he still did fairly well, but was far from the top of his class."

"But his Patronus at thirteen," Sirius had to interrupt. Harry had done better than fairly well from what he knew.

Charlie nodded, "That was one of the signs he was blocking up extraordinary potential. It took him weeks to learn the summoning charm, but the Patronus he managed after less than a dozen lessons. He's still better at complicated magic, and especially magic linked to emotion, than anything else. He can't cast a cleaning spell even as well as Tonks."

Sirius had to laugh at that. His younger cousin was miserable when it came to household spells. It was hard to imagine anyone worse than her.

"Yeah I know," Charlie grinned widely. "Tonks taunts him about it whenever she can, then he taunts back about her handwriting. The two of them are nuts together. You should definitely practice your shielding spells."

Sirius had to echo that grin. If it was what he suspected, it sounded like Harry had found his own Marauder friend.

"Dad! Dad! Dad!" Carver came running up the lawn to them and jumped into Charlie's lap.

Charlie nuzzled the boy and smiled at him, "What's on your mind little man?"

"Come play with us!" Carver demanded firmly.

"Not now Carv," Charlie hugged the eight-year-old tightly, then eased him off his lap. "I'm talking with Uncle Sirius."

Carver frowned, "But you have to work again soon."

"We'll both play with you after lunch," Charlie promised, then leaned in as if imparting a great secret, "and maybe Uncle Sirius will transform for you."

"Really?" Carver got excited and turned to Sirius. "Are you a bird too?"

Sirius laughed and shook his head, "Nope, but if you're good you'll see what I am."

Carver nodded eagerly and ran off to share with his brother and sisters.

"Is it still blocked?" Sirius tried to remember the magic he had seen Harry perform, but couldn't recall anything specific.

Charlie shook his head, "Severus helped him unblock it during winter holiday his sixth year."

"I get that Snape suddenly remembered a bunch of stuff that Lily blocked," Sirius frowned, not really wanting to say exactly what it was that Lily had sealed away in Snape's mind. Just the thought of Snape and James... his stomach flopped and he mildly regretted all the bacon he ate. "Something had to trigger that though, and it had to be that summer after I fell. There had to be a reason Dumbledore let Harry visit you. Everything is all vague and unexplained."

"You can't blame yourself Sirius," Charlie's voice was tense and Sirius's head snapped up. "There was nothing you could do about that summer, and you weren't the sole cause."

"What?" Sirius's mouth felt dry all of a sudden.

"Harry tried to kill himself," Charlie said sadly, quietly, making sure the children were all far enough away not to hear. "He cut himself up pretty badly, and Severus and Remus were almost too late to save him. He stopped breathing briefly, but Poppy got him back. Physically he recovered, but he was hollow, lost inside. That was when Albus let Harry go to Romania."

Sirius felt the world fall out from under him. Charlie said it wasn't his fault, but his recklessness had at least something to do with it. If he had been there for Harry, he might not have... He was doing his best to slow his heart rate from hearing that Harry had attempted suicide, and not to panic, and did what he always did in such a situation. He turned to something that might provide a few laughs.

"And that was when you two...," Sirius raised his eyebrows and gave the redhead a knowing look.

Charlie's face turned bright red, "Not right away... I mean... it's not like I..."

Weasleys were so easy. At least some things would never change. Sirius grinned, "Calm down there. If I thought you took advantage of him I'd... well... it's really too late now for me to do anything about it I guess." Sirius scratched his head.

Charlie nodded and continued to explain the events of Harry's last two years at Hogwarts, looking decidedly uncomfortable at several points. Sirius realized that he owed Charlie a debt. If it hadn't been for the redhead, who had helped Harry when Sirius could not, Harry would probably be dead now... but if he couldn't die... Sirius rubbed his temples. His headache was getting worse.

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	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

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After a headache potion and lunch with the children on the patio, Sirius did transform into Padfoot. It had been quite some time since he had used the animagus transformation, seeing as he had lost seven years and been in a state of pretty deep depression before then, so he was somewhat apprehensive. Much to his relief he managed easily, and the children were thrilled to have a huge black dog to play with.

They had spent all afternoon running around, and Sirius and Charlie had watched while the older kids went swimming, using that rope swing that Aaron Potter had tied to a tree for James. Randy and Kat napped in the sun, soaking it up like cats, or snakes curled on a desert rock. The shadows were getting longer, and Sirius's stomach was telling him it was almost time for dinner.

Both twins had that wild Potter hair, but their skin was pure Weasley, freckled and sunburned. Still, Charlie made sure they didn't cast a shadow over the twins, and Sirius found that when he accidentally did it caused a whimper in both of them, though he only shadowed one, until he moved.

"Huh?"

Charlie shook his head and brushed his fingers through Kat's hair, working out the tangles. It was the first head of Potter hair Sirius had ever seen that grew past the ears. James had never needed haircuts, and neither had Aaron or Clive. Of course, Kat was the first female Potter born in centuries.

"Erm...," Charlie had clearly picked that habit up from Harry, "well... you see... Harry was sort of adopted...," Sirius wrinkled his face in thought. That didn't make sense... if Snape was there... but he had been a spy... "by a dragon." Sirius almost choked on the butterbeer he was drinking. "He thinks it affected his genetic makeup somehow. He can see magic, and he says the twins have the same thread that appeared in his magic after the dragon adopted him. We think the three of them aren't fully human."

Sirius was struck speechless. Again.

Charlie's whole demeanor changed and his head tilted towards the Manor. He blinked rapidly and jumped up, "Harry's back, and he's not doing well. Stay with the kids Siri. I'll send out an elf when everything's okay."

Sirius watched with concern while Charlie apparated into the Manor, not wasting the time it would take to walk inside. He desperately wanted to follow, to unravel more of this mystery that surrounded the tattered remains of the only people he was willing to call family.

In a way, Sirius was glad he had fallen through that veil. With everything going on back then, though it felt like only days to him, Sirius wasn't sure how he would have handled everything Charlie had told him about that morning. He knew that he had only the bare facts too. Charlie had left some things out. That much was obvious. Like how had a dragon adopted Harry, and what did that do to him? And how did Harry kill Voldemort? What were all of Harry's friends up to while this was happening to Harry? Who hadn't survived the war?

Sirius called Carver and Erica out of the water, and told them it was almost time for dinner. He used drying charms on them and they pulled on their shorts and shirts over their now dry swimwear. Then together, the two of them gently woke the twins.

The blanket that the twins had been sleeping on was neatly folded and all the toys were gathered when a house elf appeared and told them it was time for dinner. Interested at seeing the two older children taking charge of the younger two, despite being only six and eight themselves, Sirius followed along quietly.

"We're having another guest for dinner," Harry said with a small smile as they all trooped inside.

Sirius gave his godson a quick assessing look, and then raised his eyebrows. The hair was a little more messed up than usual, his eyes had a slightly glazed look, and he was wearing casual muggle clothes, not the robes he must have worn to the Ministry.

The children all hugged him tightly before running up to what was, over a century ago, the 'ladies room' and was now the dining room. It had functioned as the gathering room for women, while the men had their after dinner brandy and discussed Ministry politics in a time when women were not welcome in those discussions.

"Charlie said you two talked today," Harry wasn't looking Sirius in the eye, but just slightly to the side. It was something Sirius had noticed more than once and it reminded him of someone. He just wished he knew who it was.

Sirius nodded, the impact of the talk coming back to him. He felt his eyes mist a bit, "I'm so sorry Harry."

Harry stepped back. It was just one step, but enough for Sirius to feel a pang. Whatever his place had been before in Harry's life, it was different now.

"Please don't," Harry looked to the side, out a window, making eye contact impossible. "I just can't..." There was a deep breath and Harry closed his eyes for just a moment. His whole posture changed a little, as if both straightening and relaxing all at once. The eyes opened again and Sirius saw that while they were reminiscent of Lily's, they sparkled and had a greater depth. "You can ask questions if you need to, but please respect that I may not answer some of them."

Sirius just nodded, and Harry smiled. He wasn't going to ask any questions yet, even though there were hundreds swirling around in his brain. Sirius wanted to wait so he could sort them out first, and maybe talk to Remus first. He missed his friend, and wished for the first time ever that Remus hadn't been able to find work. Then they would be able to sit down and go over everything together, and Remus could explain things like he had so many times before.

Harry surprised Sirius with a quick hug, so quick that Sirius didn't have a chance to respond and hug him back. He held himself back from pouncing on his godson and squeezing him tight, remembering what Charlie had told him. Touch could trigger Empathy, and that combined with Harry's upbringing made him shy away from contact. Sirius suspected there was more but let it be.

"C'mon Siri," Harry grinned at him, a little spark of the old Harry finding its way through, "we have a guest."

"And you're not going to tell me who it is," Sirius pouted, knowing Harry would see through it.

Harry laughed, "I think you can last the ten seconds it takes to get to the dining room."

He motioned for Sirius to go first and followed after up the spiral stone stairs of the east tower. When they got to the dining room, just one level above the great room, Sirius was greeted with a sight he had never before seen, and had never imagined he would see.

Albus Dumbledore was sitting cross-legged on the floor, which was amazing on its own considering his age, and the Potter children were almost literally climbing all over him, vying for his attention and talking all at once.

Charlie was talking to a house elf and Sirius wondered for a moment what had ever happened to Kreacher. He hoped Remus didn't have to put up with that little stinker.

Harry walked around Sirius and went straight to Charlie. Before he got there the elf popped away and Charlie turned to wrap Harry in a hug. He rested his head on Charlie's shoulder, and Charlie rubbed his back, clearing whispering something to him.

They fit perfectly together, like a puzzle with only two pieces. Sirius couldn't help but smile at them, even though he felt a twinge of jealousy. He wondered if the person who fit with him like that was still out there somewhere, wondering where he was.

"Duel with Daddy!" one of the children's voices rang out over the others. Then they all took up the suggestion and begged from Albus, "Duel with Daddy! Duel with Daddy!"

Sirius was once again startled out of his musings. Albus was laughing, his chest rising and falling in great heaves, "Only if he agrees."

"Please, Daddy, please," All four children ran over to Harry and Charlie and pulled on some part of Harry.

"Not right now," Harry said in a tone that stopped all pleading. "It is time for dinner. Perhaps after we eat, if both Albus and I feel up to it, we will duel for you."

That seemed to satisfy the children, and Sirius wondered if they ever disobeyed or challenged Harry. Empathy was near enough to telepathy that even little bits of rebellion would be extremely difficult to get away with. He pitied those children when they reached their teenage years.

"Could you give an old man a hand?" Sirius turned to face Albus again and grasped his hands to help him up from the floor. Albus clasped him in a warm hug, again with surprising strength that belied his age. "It is good to have you back among us my boy."

Any resentment left for being shut up in his mother's house faded away and Sirius wondered if Harry or Charlie had anything to do with it. Did Empathy go as far as being able to manipulate other peoples' emotions?

"We can influence, but not alter," Harry said quietly, picking up on Sirius's confusion and interpreting it correctly, "and you would definitely feel us doing it." His smile became what Sirius classified as a 'Marauder Grin'. "Even Ron notices."

Charlie laughed at that, "Poor Ron."

Harry cocked an eyebrow, "Poor Ron? He has his dream job, dream wife, dream house, a son, a daughter, another kid on the way, and couldn't be happier."

"What is he doing?" Sirius questioned, eager for more information on the people he knew.

"Uncle Ron is the Keeper for the Kenmore Kestrels," Erica joined the conversation as they all sat down.

Harry and Charlie lifted Kat and Randy into booster seats while Erica and Carver climbed into seats that were raised just enough for them to be at the proper height to eat at the table with everyone else. The food appeared and everyone started passing dishes around, Harry and Charlie selecting portions for their children.

While they ate Sirius discovered what all the children he had known, now adults, were employed as. He was shocked yet again to discover that Draco Malfoy, another cousin of his, had turned on his Death Eater roots and joined the fight on the light side, even going as far as becoming Harry's business partner. The prep school for muggle-borns had even been his idea.

He would see all of the Weasleys the next day at the picnic at the Burrow, along with their spouses and children. Apparently Randy and Kat were so far the only Weasley offspring in known history to escape the famous red hair, even with the Veela influence from Fleur.

Sirius did take note that Harry ate very little food. His whole meal would have made a nice midday snack for a child.

Once desert had been consumed and the twins had been cleaned the dining table transformed into a dueling platform and couches appeared along one wall. Harry and Albus stepped onto the platform while the others made themselves comfortable.

A house elf handed Sirius a cup of tea, exactly the way he liked it, and Randy and Kat climbed into his lap. He looked over to the next couch to see Carver and Erica settling themselves on either side of Charlie, who had a steaming cup of coffee in hand.

The contrast between Harry and Albus was remarkable. Albus was tall, with his long white hair and beard that could be tucked into the belt of his lurid robes while Harry only came up to his shoulder, had the messy dark Potter hair, and wore dark casual muggle clothes. His skin was sun darkened and Albus was pale. Both of them looked to Charlie expectantly.

The redhead thought for a moment before speaking, "Formal rules, no apparating, no illegal curses, nothing dark, no transforming, a contest of strength alone. The duel will be decided by incapacitation, seeing as Harry can't be disarmed." Sirius wondered at that, and then saw that Harry didn't even have a wand on him.

"Spoil sport," Harry stuck his tongue out at Charlie and the children giggled.

The mirth on Harry's face vanished quickly and the two combatants bowed deeply, turned, and began to walk slowly towards either end of the platform. A ward sprang to life around the platform.

"They can't hear us now," Charlie said to Sirius. "I'm glad the kids suggested this. Harry needs something relaxing before tomorrow."

"Dueling with Albus is relaxing?" Sirius tried very hard not to spill tea on either twin in his lap.

Charlie laughed, "For Harry and Albus it is. Just watch."

Sirius did watch, and he had never seen anything as beautiful as the way his godson and the headmaster dueled. They moved fluidly, rapidly, like a quick dance with exacting, well practiced steps. It was clear they had dueled many times before, and the looks they both had were serene, as if they were not competing but rather performing a choreographed exhibition.

It went smoothly until one of Harry's spells ripped through Albus's shielding and the headmaster went down on one knee, gripping his chest. Harry ran to him, and it was apparent that words were exchanged, though Sirius couldn't hear what they said. The ward was still in place.

Harry shimmered for a moment, and then his body was replaced with that of a magnificent bird. His crimson plumage was bright, with a scattering of gold, and Sirius couldn't find an identifying characteristic that separated an animagus from another animal of the same type. Pearly tears dropped into Albus's mouth, and fell on his chest, and it looked like a crisis was averted.

Charlie had put down his cup and had his wand out, speaking softly and changing the ward. "Do we need Poppy?"

Albus shook his head, "No need. Harry took care of everything just fine. It seems that old age is finally catching up with me." He stroked the bright feathers. Harry had perched on his shoulder and was nuzzling the hand that was petting him.

"How old are you Uncle Albus?" Carver asked innocently.

"Hush," Charlie ruffled the boy's hair. "That's not polite."

Albus smiled at the child, "I am well over one hundred and fifty years old Carver."

"Wow," Carver and Erica both looked at the ancient wizard with awe.

There was some movement on his lap and Sirius looked down to see that the twins had fallen asleep, "Um..."

Charlie's head turned and he smiled, "Carver... Erica..."

"Yes Dad," Erica replied and tugged at her brother. They each picked a twin up from Sirius's lap and left the room.

The adults waited until they were gone and Charlie lifted Harry away from Albus, speaking to him firmly, "Transform back Harry."

The transformation was much quicker than any animagus change. One second Harry was a phoenix, the next he was standing there, quivering in Charlie's arms, his voice barely loud enough to be heard. "I'm so sorry."

"I won't hear it," Albus spoke sternly, assuming headmaster tone. "You were not casting anywhere near your full strength. Half of the fifth year students could have gotten through that shield."

"I hurt you," Harry's face was still buried and Charlie's eyes were closed, his hands rubbing Harry's back.

"May I Charlie?" Albus asked.

Charlie looked up, and nodded. Sirius stood back quietly while Harry was passed from one pair of arms to another. He felt like an intruder. Charlie still concentrated on the other pair of wizards while Albus spoke.

"Do you feel any hurt from me?" Albus questioned softly. Harry shook his head. "I have lived much longer than I ever expected Harry. There is no surprise that I falter every now and then. You cannot take on yourself the changes that time itself is causing within me."

"Why won't you...?"

Albus cut Harry off, "We have spoken of this before Harry. My time has passed. I am only waiting for the next adventure."

"I don't want to lose you too," Harry's voice was almost impossible to hear, and even Sirius could feel the pain. Charlie had tears in his eyes.

"You will," Albus said matter-of-factly. "You will lose me and you will go on living."

Harry nodded and stepped back from the embrace, his arms wrapped around his torso. He turned to Sirius, "I'm sorry Siri. It's one thing after another isn't it?"

"Hey," Sirius put on a wide smile and conjured up happy memories in his mind, like he was trying to cast a Patronus, "I'm a Marauder. You can't keep me down long."

It looked like it was working. Harry sniffed and started to smile. He looked back at Charlie, then disappeared in a flash of flame.

Sirius felt his jaw drop, "Does that happen every time?"

"He was showing off," Charlie shook his head and grinned. "I guess that's it for tonight. Sorry we're cutting the evening short Albus."

Albus rested a gnarled hand on Charlie's shoulder, "Not at all my boy. See to your family."

"Will you be at the Burrow tomorrow?" Charlie asked, bringing one of his hands up to clasp the old, wrinkled one.

"No," Albus said gently. "I feel I will need to rest and Poppy would have my head if she found out. The entire Weasley clan is generally not conducive to relaxation."

Sirius raised his eyebrows and both other wizards laughed. Charlie's eyes flashed for a moment, "You have no idea what you're in for Sirius."

"Goodnight boys," Albus gave them both hugs and kissed them on the cheek, his lips dry like parchment. He activated a Portkey and was gone.

"Will you check on the kids?" Charlie asked Sirius. "I want to make sure Harry is really okay."

By the sound of it Charlie was sure that Harry was not doing well. Sirius agreed and they went in opposite directions, Charlie to the Master Suite and Sirius to the children's rooms. He found all four of them in the twins' room, as the two of them still shared. Erica and Carver had changed their little brother and sister and gotten them into their beds, with short railings to prevent them from falling out.

"Will you read to us Uncle Sirius?" Erica asked.

Sirius grinned. It was what he dreamed of those long nights in Azkaban when the dementors left him to his own thoughts, a little Harry climbing into his bed and asking his godfather to read him just one more story before he had to go to bed.

"Brush your teeth and get in your nightclothes and bring the story you want to my room," Sirius offered, trying out this godfather thing again, as it should have been. "I expect you both to have clean faces and hands too."

They nodded and ran off and Sirius went to his own room, making sure he locked the bathroom door behind him and changed in there in case the children were ready in record time. He had no wish to traumatize them.

"Once upon a time..." Sirius began as the two small bodies burrowed into him on either side. He gave each character a different voice and included his own sound effects. It wasn't long before Carver and Erica had fallen asleep.

He decided not to disturb them and levitated the book to his nightstand. With an arm around each child Sirius let himself drift off, commenting somewhere in his mind that he hadn't gone to sleep that early since long before he entered his first year at Hogwarts. He must be getting old too.

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	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

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How many people could say they literally _had_ to go home and have sex with their spouse or they would go insane?

Harry suspected that once more he was the only one alive who could ever claim something outrageous like that, though this was one oddity he did not object to. He kept his eyes closed and let Charlie's magic and emotions surround him, protect him from the outside world.

Their bond was so strong that Harry could follow it across the world to find Charlie, or use it to call Charlie to Britain from Romania if he desperately needed him. It was always there, always grounding his own wild, nearly uncontrollable Empathy.

Skin to skin contact just augmented the bond and Harry felt like he was wrapped in a thick cocoon, swaddled in strands of their shared magic and cushioned by almost overpowering love.

Other dragon handlers at the preserve had commented to Harry that for an Empath, engaging in a relationship with anyone who didn't share at least a bit of the talent was like sleeping with a corpse. Looking back on his brief dating experience at Hogwarts with Cho Chang, who was now working in the family export business and reportedly dating a wizard who had attended Beauxbatons, he fully understood what they meant. Everything he had shared with her was dull and cold in comparison to the first kiss with Charlie. That had been like fire coursing through his veins, and it had only gotten better and more intense from there.

The warm mass behind him shifted and slightly chapped lips kissed along his shoulders and neck. Charlie rubbed his hands along Harry's sides and spoke softly in his ear, "We can't lie in bed all day. Mum's expecting us right after breakfast."

"Mmm," Harry couldn't vocalize beyond that just then, not with the thoughts his mind had been entertaining just before, and not without his morning caffeine fix. He took one of Charlie's hands and directed it to his groin, feeling Charlie shift behind him, muscles flexing, and the hand gripped.

"I suppose we have enough time," Charlie turned Harry onto his back swiftly and moved on top of him. His lips descended to cover Harry's and Harry lifted his hips to make contact.

They moved against each other, their passion mounting quickly. Harry prepared himself magically and felt Charlie impale him immediately after, so in tune were they at moments like that. Within minutes ecstasy rocked through them and they shuddered and lay still.

"Shower?" Harry nuzzled Charlie. He needed his morning coffee before he would able to form a complete sentence.

Charlie nodded and half an hour later they were going to wake up the kids, their hair still wet. Drying charms were another thing Harry couldn't manage anymore and Charlie didn't particularly care. His job required him to do many things without the aid of magic and so he didn't use it for some of the everyday things that most witches and wizards relied on their wands for. Their life was an odd mix of muggle and magic usually only found with muggle-borns who had trouble leaving that part of their life behind.

Ron and Hermione were constantly amused that Harry, who was most likely the most powerful wizard alive, quite often did things the 'muggle way' instead. It was almost the exact opposite of Fred of George, who had never quite gotten over the thrill of reaching the legal age to perform magic outside of Hogwarts. It was amazing they didn't gain a ridiculous amount of weight with the way they apparated to hop just a couple of feet.

"You have got to see this Harry," Charlie was standing outside Sirius's door, grinning.

Harry peeked in the room and felt a wide smile spread over his face. Mornings were easiest for him, before the complicated emotions that came with others being awake surrounded him.

On Sirius's bed was Sirius, of course, but there was on one side of him a strawberry blond head just barely sticking out of the covers, and on the other side long dirty blond hair spilled onto his chest. Erica's nightgown was twisted around her frame and she had thrown the blankets away from her, while Carver was wrapped up in them and burrowed deeply, leaving very little to cover Sirius.

Sirius let out a mixture of a snort and a snore and shifted slightly, but his arms remained around the two children, who shifted with him to remain molded to his sides.

"I almost hate to wake them," Harry laughed, Charlie's good mood affecting him strongly.

"How do you want to go about it?" Charlie slipped an arm around Harry's waist. They were both in muggle clothes in preparation for their return to Romania that night after the full day picnic. Their belongings would be sent ahead by house elf and Harry would take them all there from the Burrow after the fireworks.

"Well it's only fair..." Harry couldn't help himself and the wicked grin that slipped onto his face. "Sirius did teach me the hex..."

All three occupants of the bed bolted upright with startled looks. Erica stuck her tongue out at Harry and slipped out of the bed, leaving for her own room. Carver looked around and pulled the blankets back over his head.

"What..." Sirius spluttered. "Harry... No fair! I taught you that one!"

"And I've put it good use," Harry replied. He smiled at his godfather and felt the indignation fade in favor of relief and happiness. "Time to get up. We have to eat and make sure Tawney has everything all set before we head over to the Burrow."

Sirius yawned and nodded and proceeded to poke Carver. Like Sirius, that boy could sleep through the apocalypse. Harry left his godfather to the task of getting Carver going for the day and went down to the kitchens while Charlie got the twins with Erica's assistance.

Breakfast was a rushed affair, with all four children constantly remembering 'one more thing' they 'needed' to pack for Romania. It happened every time, and every time Harry reminded them that if they found out they had left something important behind he could easily pop back to the Manor for it.

Eventually the house elves took over in the scolding department and had the children seated quietly, finishing their food while Harry went over a few things with Tawney, who was in charge of the household when the family wasn't there, and oftentimes even when they were there.

Picnic day every year was always tough on Harry, and that was without the added stress of bringing Sirius back and the heart problems Albus had experienced the night before. His magic had actually _flickered_. Harry felt his own heart nearly stop at the thought.

The entire Weasley family would be at the Burrow, which meant there would be a large number of hyper children present, so Harry hadn't been surprised when Charlie told him that Albus had decided not to go.

Severus, Remus, and George were always excused from Hogwarts for the day, with Minerva usually pushing Severus out the door and telling him that Hogwarts would survive just fine without three of her staff members for the day, even if the students only arrived the day before. They probably wouldn't even notice the missing professors.

It was a feat of arranging skill on Molly's part with all the schedules she had to accommodate to make the day possible. Add into that the year before when Angelina and Fleur both went into labor during the party within a few hours of each other and it was amazing that Molly still managed to get everyone through dinner and the Weasley Wizarding Wheezes fireworks display. This year, birthday cake would be added to the menu for the two most recent additions to the family, both a year old now.

Ginny had finished Auror training two years before and was engaged to be married to a muggle she had met through her work. She had brought him to the picnic the year before to great pleasure on Arthur's part. Toby had won the family over by not only putting up with Arthur's endless questioning on all things muggle, but by bringing him a few gadgets that worked on solar power, making the need for electricity or batteries non-existent, _and_ thoroughly explaining how they worked. He had been educated as an engineer at one point. Arthur had granted his blessing for the marriage before anyone ever asked him.

"Everyone ready?" Harry asked loudly in the great room once breakfast was over and Tawney had taken several shrunken trunks to Romania and returned whole. "Anyone not touching me in two minutes is staying here alone for a few months."

That prompted all the children to run and grab hold of a leg. Charlie laughed and took Harry's hand, while Sirius grinned and took the other hand.

"Barriers intact?" Charlie whispered.

Harry nodded and concentrated. There was no need for the flash of fire he had surprised Sirius with. It was just one of the things that characterized normal phoenix travel and Harry had found he could use it to make an impression, and that sometimes it happened when he wasn't concentrating.

The Potters, Weasley, and one Black arrived in the front yard of the Burrow, now free of any animal life. The chickens that had once been kept there were sold when the Weasleys temporarily moved to Grimmauld Place and had never been replaced.

"I can hear them all around back," Charlie commented.

Four little bodies ran for the other side of the house, the three adults following at a more sedate pace.

"Sirius!"

For once Ron had been the first to notice something, Harry thought with a grin, but that might have only been because he was stuffing himself at the food table and facing the corner of the house that they approached from. The redhead ran towards them and wrapped Sirius in a hug, towering over the older wizard, much to his obvious surprise.

"What in Merlin's name is going on here? I thought you were dead!" Ron exclaimed.

Harry punched his arm, "Real tactful Ron."

The Weasley flush spread across his face and he gave both Harry and his brother quick hugs. His yell had drawn the attention of everyone there and a crowd was soon forming around them, all of them edging in to hug Sirius and welcome him back from wherever they thought he had been.

"Dad was the one who managed it," Harry told the crowd of mostly redheads. "He found out that Siri hadn't actually died when he fell behind the veil and spent the last five years figuring out how to get him back."

With extremely good timing the contingency from Hogwarts arrived and Snape was thoroughly congratulated on his achievement and questioned extensively on how he managed it. Harry felt the tiny bit of shock from Sirius seeing how the Weasleys all interacted with Snape now, and how Snape acted in turn.

"He really has changed," Harry said quietly to his godfather. "I know it's hard to accept. It took me two years. No one expects the two of you to get along overnight."

Sirius was clearly a little startled at Harry's admission, but smiled, "Thanks Harry. This is all a bit overwhelming."

"Just go spend some time with Remus," Harry prompted. "He's feeling a little unsure."

His godfather gave Harry a concerned look, and Harry knew it was concern for Remus and not him for once. He nudged Sirius and the Marauder made his way over to the only other living full Marauder. They hugged tightly and wandered off, talking. Harry heard a sniffle and saw that Molly was crying.

"Here," Harry slipped through the crowd and handed her a handkerchief.

She dabbed her eyes and gave it back, "I'm so happy for Remus. He's been lost without his pack."

"You should have seen him when he first saw Siri," Harry closed his eyes and remembered the day. "I almost thought his heart had stopped."

Molly shook her head, "Only because you just popped it on him like that. No matter how much everyone says you got James's looks and Lily and Severus's temperaments, there is more of James in you than anyone suspects."

Harry gave her a brief hug, "Thanks Molly."

"When will you start calling me Mum like everyone else?" Molly switched from reminiscent to stern in the blink of an eye.

Harry shrugged. She and Arthur had been adamant that he could call them Mum and Dad, but Harry had never been comfortable with it. Calling them Molly and Arthur had been a stretch. It had taken him long enough to refer to Snape as Dad with any amount of ease. If he recalled correctly, the first time it had come naturally was when Snape was bloody and beaten on the ground of Voldemort's headquarters at the end of Harry's sixth year.

"Harry!" Hermione, her stomach protruding quite a bit, greeted him warmly and handed him a plate of fruit. The campaign to make Harry eat as much as possible had never really stopped. He nibbled on a slice of cantaloupe to appease her.

"When are you due again?" Harry asked her as she picked at some of the fruit she had given him. "We'll need a substitute to fill in for you."

"All taken care of," Hermione replied and dabbed his mouth with a napkin. "Luna Longbottom said she would take some time away from _The Quibbler_ to cover my classes."

"You hired Luna?" Harry raised his eyebrows at his best friend, one of the very few people he was almost completely comfortable around. "Draco is going to kill you for that. He can't stand her."

"Well he doesn't have to work with her, now does he?" Hermione said firmly. "She's covering my classes and Penelope's taking over my duties as Headmistress."

Harry nodded, "Just promise me you'll tell him when I'm not around? I don't want to see, or feel another of his temper tantrums."

"Of course," Hermione gave him a quick peck on the lips.

"Hey there," Ron said with feigned anger. "You don't see me..."

"Ron!" Five or more voices interrupted before laughing loudly. It was an old joke that Ron continued to use to poke fun at himself. Years had passed since he'd made any slip that bad. Having half of what you say published in the papers had taught Ron to think before he spoke... most of the time anyway.

Ron grinned and wrapped his arms around Hermione from behind, hands on her abdomen to feel the baby, "How are you doing Harry? Any chance you'll see a game soon?"

"I don't know," Harry scratched his head and ran through his schedule in his head. "The International Confederation is meeting in a few weeks and I have to get ready for that. We have to find a somewhat discreet way to break it to the world that Sirius is back and we didn't use necromancy for it."

"I get it," Ron nodded. "Keep it in mind though. I bet Siri would love it. He probably hasn't seen a game since he was at Hogwarts, except for that one where the dementors turned up of course."

Harry smiled, knowing that Ron was probably right, "I'll mention it, but he's a grown man. Once everyone knows he's alive and kicking, and I mean that almost literally, he'll have to get a job and find a place to live and all that."

"Kicking me out on my ears?" Sirius approached them with Remus at his side.

Harry blinked innocently, "Now why would you ever think that?" He smiled, "Really though, you're welcome to stay at the Manor as long as you want. I just thought you'd want your own place eventually. There are a ton of Black properties vacant or easily reclaimed."

It was Sirius's turn to raise his eyebrows, "Really? I never knew exactly what we had. By the time I inherited I couldn't exactly stroll into Gringotts and ask for an accounting."

"That reminds me," Harry used an extremely advanced summoning charm and the weight of a Gringotts key fell into his hand. "This is yours. I never even touched what you left me."

"I returned every Galleon you gave me to the vault as well Padfoot," Remus added.

Stubbornness showed in Sirius's eyes, "You didn't have to. Moony..."

"Don't even think it Padfoot," Remus smiled softly. "You wondered for so long where I went after graduation. I was living with the Flamels. They left all their gold and books to me. I could leave Hogwarts now and never want for anything. I teach because I love it, not for the money. I've always had the money Lily and James, and before them Aaron and Viviane and my father left me. I just never used it."

Sirius flung himself at Remus and wrapped him in a bear hug, lifting the werewolf off the ground in the process, even though Remus was a few inches taller.

The whole family was generally happy and excited on the picnic day. Harry didn't even mind that he couldn't take part in the family quidditch game. He was perfectly content sitting on a blanket with the twins, with Angelina and Fleur and Hermione and their children with them. Angelina would normally be playing, but as she was pregnant again she couldn't risk getting hit by a bludger.

Harry shook his head. Arthur, as he did at every family gathering, had found a time to corner Toby and question him relentlessly about something muggle. With Ginny in the air as part of the game, and Toby unable to fly, the muggle man was at the mercy of his future father-in-law. He did eventually manage to escape and join Harry.

"Albus isn't coming?" Hermione asked him as she called for her red haired son, Benjamin, to leave his younger cousin alone. Benjamin was the oldest of the non-adopted grandchildren.

Harry shook his head, "He hasn't been feeling too well. We were dueling last night and his shield faltered."

"Is he okay?" Angelina immediately asked.

"He'll be fine," Harry responded with confidence, though he wasn't all that sure himself. Hermione noticed what Fleur and Angelina didn't and gave him a sympathetic look.

"Well," Hermione said realistically, "he is nearly one hundred ninety I think. That's quite old even for a wizard, and Dumbledore is half muggle."

"He is?" Fleur asked, shocked. Toby looked on with interest, after dating a witch for two years he was still learning many things about her world.

Harry didn't know how Hermione had found out but he confirmed her information, "His mother was a muggle. He told me during our training."

"It really says something when the three most powerful wizards of the century have that much muggle blood," Angelina commented, referring to Harry, Albus, and Voldemort.

Harry just shrugged. It could have been coincidence, or the magical families that they were descended from. Both of Harry's parents had been very powerful in their own rights.

That year no one went into labor, no bones were broken, and no fights erupted. The last may have been because Sirius and Snape steered clear of each other all day, but Harry didn't care. The day was emotionally easy on him and that was all that really mattered as the fireworks exploded over their heads.

Fleur and Angelina both had their hands over the ears of their year-old children, but the rest of the family watched with contented smiles and full stomachs. Molly outdid herself in the sheer quantity of food, with a separate small cake for each birthday girl to destroy while the adults and other children ate a separate cake.

It was late and all four Potter kids were asleep when it was time to leave for Romania. Sirius and Charlie each held two children while Harry wrapped an arm around each of them to make sure they all traveled safely. When they arrived in their wizarding tent on the preserve it was the middle of the night Romanian time. Harry had already been back once to adjust the tent and make another room for Sirius to sleep in.

Three very tired adults tucked in the four children and retired to their rooms, Harry and Charlie grateful that work on the preserve didn't start for them until the day after, giving them the chance to sleep in and adjust to the time zone change.

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	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

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Sunlight assaulted Sirius's eyes the instant he woke and he, for just a split second, almost yelled at James and Remus to shut the drapes. He remembered then that he was in Romania, not at Hogwarts, and James had been dead for over twenty years. His room in Potter Manor had faced west, in the Black house he had north and west windows, and he hadn't had a window in Azkaban. This was the first time the sun had woken him like that in many years.

In retrospect, all those conversations with the portraits of Lily and James might not have been the best idea. His sense of time was screwy enough as it was. Sirius kept expecting an owl from Harry at Hogwarts, or for Kingsley to drop by and tell him how the manhunt was going. They had spent several amusing hours coming up with 'spottings' and deciding on which remote locations to send some of the more useless Aurors to search for him.

Then he would remember that Harry had graduated from Hogwarts five years before. Kingsley would never stop by for a visit and brainstorming session, as he had been killed in the final battle. A brief memory floated back into his mind, his little cousin blushing at some mention of her fellow Auror. He wondered how she was, as he suspected that she and Kingsley had been more than coworkers at some point.

On top of it all, Sirius was free. If the world in general knew he was alive he could stroll down Diagon Alley without a care. It was a heady feeling, that he no longer had to run and hide, that Peter had killed himself and _Neville Longbottom_ of all people had killed Belletrix. He had been focused on war and revenge and Harry for so long; Sirius didn't know what to do with himself anymore.

He blinked several times to adjust his eyes. The sounds of excited children were yet another reminder of Sirius's current circumstances. He vaguely remembered using a bathroom at some point the night before and then being shown to the new room Harry had added to the tent.

How could Harry so casually mention expanding wizard space, and just popping over to Romania from England to do so, and yet not be able to cast a simple cleaning spell? The mystery grew nearly every day.

After opening the doors to two other bedrooms, Sirius managed to find a bathroom. He did not wake up well, and was looking forward to a steaming cup of tea... or maybe even some of the coffee that Harry was so fond of. It certainly did wonders in waking his godson.

Clean, though his hair was still damp, Sirius followed the sounds of children's laughter to the kitchen. All four children were seated at the table, maybe halfway through their breakfast.

"What time is it?" Sirius stretched as he entered the room.

"You have a wand," Harry smirked at him, far too awake in Sirius's opinion. They were all wearing muggle style clothing, as they seemed to wear on most occasions, and Harry was standing at the stove, cooking.

Sirius frowned and felt around until he found where he had stuck it in a pocket.

"Wands don't go in pockets!"

The statement startled Sirius just slightly and he looked at Erica in confusion. Almost every teenager at Hogwarts stowed their wand in a pocket, and even most adults did the same.

Carver nodded knowingly, "Mad-Eye says you can lose a buttock that way."

"What's a buttock?" Kat questioned her older brother, who immediately turned red.

Sirius stifled a chuckle while Harry gave Kat a very straight forward and simple explanation then added for all their benefit, "and Mad-Eye does not know a single person who has blasted any part of their body away like that."

Harry winked at Sirius and another chair appeared at the table for him. Sirius took it gratefully and grinned when Harry set down a full plate of food in front him. It was enough for two people, about what he had eaten when he was fifteen or so, and he suspected Harry was suffering from Molly Weasley syndrome.

"Are you eating anything?" Sirius asked his godson, remembering that everyone carefully watched how much Harry ate.

"Unlike some," Harry rolled his eyes, "I've been awake for hours, since the crack of dawn actually."

"How much sleep did you get?" Sirius frowned. He wasn't sure exactly when they arrived but it had already been late when they left and jumped ahead three time zones.

Harry shrugged, "A few hours. I probably would have gotten a little more, but there was a problem with a Swiss Swamp Dragon."

Randy's eyes lit up, "We got one? Really?"

"Soon we'll have several," Harry grinned at his son. "She has five eggs. Unfortunately she decided to build her nest too close to the camp. In a month or so no one would be able to get past her to the rest of the dragons."

"Why did you get up early?" Sirius was trying to figure out the dynamics of how the family operated there. He knew that Harry was primarily responsible for the children, but that he also worked as a consultant to the preserve at times, along with the Ministry.

"Negotiations," Harry lifted a mug to his mouth and Sirius guessed it was some of the ever present coffee. "She wouldn't listen to reason though, rather stubborn dragon. There's a team working to convert an area to something swampier for her, with some help from Fred and George's Portable Swamps, and we'll move her there sometime soon."

Sirius felt his eyes grow round, and noticed that none of the children reacted to Harry's casual mention of relocating a nesting dragon, "Isn't that dangerous?"

Harry lifted his eyebrows and Sirius wondered if he was just imagining the amusement he detected from Harry, "It's what we do Siri. She'll be put under a strong sleeping charm, with a warming charm for the eggs, and then taken to her new swamp." Harry looked at the four children, who were just scraping up the last bits of breakfast, "Sooooo... that means no one goes outside today, not until she's safe in her new home."

"But Daddy!" Randy was the loudest protestor.

"What have I told you?" Harry fixed the young boy in his gaze. His face was tight, as if he was having difficulty controlling his expression.

Randy looked down at his clean plate sullenly, "Never go near a nesting mother."

"That's right," Harry flicked his hand and the clear plates flew off the table and into the sink. He began washing them by hand, "I know the dragons here are unusually docile and friendly towards you four, but nesting mothers are unpredictable. Their loyalty to me will _not_ stop them from hurting you if they think you might hurt their eggs."

"Fine," Randy didn't seem any happier, and Sirius suspected the lecture had been repeated before and would have to repeated again. The boy left the table without any other word and soft thumps were heard before a door slammed.

"Sorry Daddy," Kat apologized for her twin, hugged her father and ran off in the same direction her brother had. Her action had the effect of Harry nearly sagging, his muscles going from tight and tensed to relaxed.

Harry sighed and shook his head, "If any of these guys follows in Charlie's footsteps it will be that boy."

"We're sorry Daddy," Erica said quietly.

"There is no need to be," Harry smiled at them, though it took obvious effort to do so. "We want you do whatever makes you happy when you grow up, no matter what that is." Both Carver and Erica grinned at that.

Sirius grinned as well, "So what do you two want to be?"

"I'm gonna play quidditch like Uncle Ron!" Carver declared. "I'm getting a broom for Christmas!"

Sirius raised his eyebrows in Harry's direction and his godson mouthed, 'Training broom.'

"And you Erica?" Sirius asked.

The little girl shrugged, "I don' know. Maybe a Auror like Aunt Ginny, or maybe a teacher like Granddad."

Sirius ruffled her hair, "Well, you have plenty of time to decide."

"But you only have an hour until lessons," Harry announced, at which both children jumped up from the table and ran towards their rooms, "and remember to brush your teeth!"

Sirius watched while Harry continued to do the dishes by hand, "You know, I could just cast the charm for that if your cleaning charms are that bad."

He was fishing for information he knew, and he suspected Harry as knew as well. If nothing else, his godson would be able to feel the puzzlement he was feeling just then. Sirius did not understand how Harry could be so talented at so many types of magic, and yet so hopeless with things like cleaning charms, and whatever else Sirius didn't know about.

"It's not that they're bad Siri," Harry turned around, toweling his hands dry. "My cleaning charms are nonexistent. Cast the charm to finish this up and we'll go sit."

Sirius nodded and cast the charm. The dishes immediately began washing themselves and he and Harry went into the living room. Despite the fact that it was early September it was a bit chilly so Harry lit a fire in the grate as they sat on the sofa. Harry had his mug of coffee still and Sirius wondered if he ever stopped drinking from it, or if it was just because he got so little sleep the night before.

"I said you could ask questions, but I haven't really given you a chance," Harry prompted him.

Sirius nodded, wondering where to begin, "No cleaning charms?"

"I guess that's a safe starting point," Harry grinned. "I didn't find out about it until I was taking my N.E.W.T.s because I didn't really see a need to practice my practical work. It was not long after the last battle with the Death Eaters and Voldemort. When I killed him I used not only my magic, but his as well and magic I drew from the earth. The only explanation I could come up with was that it was too much and some of my magic was burned out, or whatever it is that channels our magic shut down in some spots."

"How is that possible?" Sirius was intrigued. It was more that Harry had been able to access and use magic that wasn't his own than his burning out some of his magic.

Harry's eyes seemed to glaze over slightly, and he reached out, his hand hovering slightly off Sirius's skin, "Your magic is an extra layer, right above the surface." Sirius felt his body tingle, but most strongly wherever Harry's hand moved. "There are nodes of concentration here," Harry's hand moved from his forehead, to his throat, his heart, his wrists, and several other spots on his body, "here, here... Different nodes are stronger for different people, and it usually follows what their talents or personality is like. Empaths, for instance, have a particularly strong node over the heart. Most Ravenclaws and Slytherins have a bright node at the head."

"You see it," Sirius breathed. It was more a statement of awe than a question.

Harry nodded slightly and continued his explanation, "There are threads that flow from node to node, usually two different colors for each person. Some people have only one color, and others as many as three though that's rare. When I was taking my exams I found I couldn't make some spells work and examined my magic, discovering some irregularities.

"I'm not the only one who sees it. Ollivander can see a glow around every witch and wizard, which is what helps him match us to our wands. It's a talent that runs in his family, like Parselmouths in the Slytherin line. We're pretty sure that Kat and Randy have some degree of Empathy, as Charlie and I both do, but we don't know how strong it is it or if they have other unusual talents...," Harry's voice trailed off a bit and Sirius could tell he was troubled about something, probably to do with the twins. After all, with Harry as their father they were bound to be powerful, and quite potentially have a few talents that might be looked down upon.

Sirius decided it was time the subject, "Charlie said you were adopted by a dragon?"

Harry's pensive expression changed to a full grin, "When Voldemort discovered Dad was a spy I bargained with the snake, Dad for me." Sirius's eyes went wide, and he noticed that Harry didn't mention how Snape was discovered or how Harry ended up in a position to bargain for Snape's life. It was a bit disconcerting to hear Snape referred to as 'Dad' but Sirius was getting used to hearing it. "I escaped into his forest where he kept his dark menagerie, met Bertolt, a friend of a friend who happened to live there, and finally stumbled upon a Welsh Green that had been taken from her infants.

"I was a mess, gashes on my leg, face and side, wounds from a bunch of curses, pneumonia setting in and half frozen. Luckily I had met the dragon's infants when they were taken to Hogwarts for medical care, told her they were safe, and she decided to make me one of them," Harry's smile was reminiscent now, and Sirius just sat quietly and listened with rapt attention. He wanted every detail he could get of the times in Harry's life that he missed.

"It wasn't until a few months after that when she actually adopted me," now Sirius was confused. He thought it was just symbolic, when they said the dragon adopted him. Harry held out his arm and rolled up his sleeve. Sirius did his best to ignore the other scars and only look at the one Harry was pointing out, a darker than usual scar, small and round. "She gave me some of her blood, and it actually changed my physiology. My vision is sharper, my hearing more acute, I'm stronger, and it also strengthened my Empathy and ability to see magic... and made them harder to control. It didn't get really bad until the battle though."

Harry's face became pained and Sirius would have hugged him if he didn't know that Harry was adverse to physical contact, "The overload of magic during the battle destroyed all my barriers... Empathy, magical sight, Occlumency... and it was damn near impossible to get them functioning again. The bond with Charlie is the only thing that helps. His magic grounds mine, stabilizes it."

In the past there had been marriages arranged for pretty much that reason. A witch or wizard was seen as unstable, whether it was their magic or mental health, and were bonded to someone in hopes that the ceremony would temper them. It didn't always work, but he suspected it was successful often enough to keep the tradition going.

There was still one question that Sirius had to ask though, and he would feel the guilt eating away at him until he did, "Harry... when you tried... was it because of me?"

Harry's head snapped up and his eyes sparkled, then shined just a bit as if moisture was collecting in them, "Not entirely Siri, though I won't deny that seeing you fall, and reliving that in my nightmares, had a strong effect on me. There were several factors involved in that. I heard the full prophecy with a few hours after you fell, and then I was sent back to the Dursleys. I had no one to talk to and I was having nightmares every night, though no visions thank Merlin. My scar burned constantly and I barely ate or slept. I didn't read any of my post.

"I take full responsibility for what I did Sirius," Harry was looking him in the eye and Sirius felt a weight begin to lift just slightly. "If you need to blame anyone blame me for thinking I could escape that way, blame the Order for not seeing something in my letters was wrong and not checking on me, blame the Dursleys for letting me stay locked in my room for over a month without questioning it, or blame Albus for leaving me with them in the first place.

"You shouldn't have come to the Ministry," Harry continued with a wry smile, "but I shouldn't have been there either. Everyone screwed up, Dumbledore, Dad, Remus, my friends, not just you or me."

Sirius couldn't help himself any longer and he did hug his godson, if only briefly, "I'm sorry I wasn't there."

"There was no way you could change it," Harry shook his head. "Remus was there. Dad was there. Charlie was there. Ron and Hermione were there. I survived, and I'm still here. If you still think you need to apologize, then I accept."

"I missed it all didn't I?" Sirius felt humbled, and a little lost. "You grew up Harry. Merlin, you're more of an adult now than I am."

"Like that would be hard," Harry's eyes showed just a little bit of the legendary Marauder mischief, and Sirius found himself grinning again. He was glad that there was something of the Marauders carried on in the only offspring ever to come from that group.

"Brat."

"Old man."

"Hey, I'm not old!" Sirius protested.

Harry sparkled some more, and there was just a hint of a smirk, "Technically you're in your mid-forties Padfoot."

Sirius felt his jaw drop as the sounds of pounding feet came towards the room. Sweet Merlin, Harry was right. Technically, Sirius was almost forty-five years old. He had seen the advanced years when he looked at Remy, who had after all been a werewolf now for forty years, twice as long as anyone else had even managed it, but it hadn't really hit in terms of his own age. Snape had looked just the same, as had Albus, and Arthur, though Molly was a little thinner and had a few more lines. Poppy was the same as ever.

Forty-five was still less than half the normal, non-wartime life expectancy of a wizard, but when Sirius was a kid it had felt so old. When he was in Azkaban it had felt like even thirty, and then forty, would take hundreds of years to arrive.

"What's wrong with Uncle Siri?" Erica's voice snapped him out of his daze.

"Nothing," Harry's teasing tone warned him, "he just figured out how old he is."

Four voices giggled and Randy announced, "We all know how old we are!"

"Old people forget stuff," Carver said knowingly.

At that Sirius had to speak up, "I'm not that old!"

Harry had stood up and went into another room as the banter continued, all four children ganging up on Sirius, only to return with a stack of books and envelopes and a box. Randy and Kat came forward eagerly, as it turned out the box held crayons for them and Harry pulled out some educational looking coloring books from his stack of books. The two of them sat down at a short table with small chairs just their size and began to color intently. Randy's funk seemed to be past, and Sirius guessed that his twin had something to do with that.

"You two," Harry handed books to Erica and Carver, "have an assignment. I want book reports on this book."

The books he handed to Erica and Carver were muggle, as the pictures on the covers did not move. The two of them settled in armchairs without argument and began to read while Harry took out two sheets of parchment that floated towards them without a word, or even a hand motion. As the paper passed Sirius he saw it was a form to fill out on the books they were reading.

"For you," Harry said and Sirius's head snapped towards his godson. A pile of books landed in front of him... Hogwarts textbooks.

"I graduated years ago! I was an Auror!" Sirius objected. He had never liked studying or homework, even if James had been more willing to crack the books in their last two years of school. He just realized he had even more insight on that change in his friend than before. Snape and Lily had both been somewhat bookish and must have influenced James in that area of his life.

Harry raised his eyebrows and Sirius noticed that the children had all looked up in interest, "Do you think you're anywhere near the level of proficiency you achieved prior to your incarceration?"

The vocabulary he used had to be because of the children. Harry didn't want to come out and say to his children that the man staying with them had been in Azkaban for twelve years, wrongly imprisoned or not.

Sirius huffed indignantly, but pulled the first year Charms text towards him. Hadn't he cast that dishwashing charm effectively? Of course... Sirius hadn't even known that charm until after he escaped Azkaban. A wave of guilt took him. Maybe if he had spent less time moping in his mother's house and more time working on his defensive magic Belletrix wouldn't have gotten the better of him.

As he went over magic that he learned over thirty years before, in the correct time scheme, not his own screwed up sense of history, he noticed out of the corner of his eye that Harry was reading through a stack of parchment and making notes.

"What is that?" Sirius leaned over to get a look and saw very small writing. A circle of magnified words was moving across the page for Harry to read.

Harry held up a finger, and finished a paragraph before putting down the pages, "Various proposals going before the International Confederation in a little over a week. All of the delegates receive the proposals by post before we meet to save time in the discussions. If someone isn't prepared for any of the issues it's their own problem."

"How long is the meeting?" Sirius was amazed at the height of the stack of parchment with miniaturized text.

Harry sighed and rubbed his face with his hands, "It usually lasts about a week or so. We're in New York City this year, which should be interesting as I've never been."

"Will you bring us back apples Daddy?" Kat had clearly been eavesdropping and not at all ashamed.

"Of course I will," Harry replied, smiling at the girl as she went back to her coloring book.

'Apples?' Sirius mouthed.

Harry's grin showed amusement, "Didn't you know New York is called the Big Apple Siri? Where else would you go for apples?"

A great well of laughter bubbled up inside him at the logic of children but Sirius forced himself to hold it in. If Harry was going to humor his children then Sirius was not going to interfere in that.

It was hours later that the door opened and Charlie came in, looking very dirty. He took off his coat as he walked in, wrinkled his nose at the smears of... something... and banished the coat to some other room.

The living area showed the work that had gone on there all morning. Erica and Carver were both sitting in positions that made Sirius's back hurt just by looking at them, both nearly done with their books. A dozen colored pictures were scattered on the floor around Randy and Kat, and Harry had hung several finished products in the kitchen, for some reason only on the cold storage cupboards. The twins had moved on and were playing with building blocks.

Sirius had spent the morning working on relearning the magic that he had, to his utter embarrassment, nearly forgotten in first the twelve years that he had been without magic, then the year he had been on the run without a wand, another year when he was afraid to cast the simplest spells for fear of detection by the Ministry, and finally the year he spent in his mother's house, depressed and moody and spending more time complaining to Buckbeak than being productive in any sense of the word.

Harry hadn't said a word though, as Sirius found that having his original wand in his hands was truly making a difference in his spells. He faltered every now and then but he was quickly remembering everything the professors at Hogwarts and trainers at the Ministry had taught him.

There was an extra table conjured next to Harry for the mess of papers. Though Harry had matured greatly Sirius could see what frustrated Hermione in their days at Hogwarts. Harry seemed to have absolutely no sense of organization in his work. He spent as much time hunting for various papers as he did taking notes on them, and his handwriting was atrocious.

"Everyone ready for lunch?" Charlie asked, leaning over the back of the couch to kiss Harry.

Four pairs of eyes looked to Harry eagerly, Sirius felt his own stomach grumbling, and Harry smiled, "As soon as you change out of those clothes. _What_ have you been doing?"

"Swamp work," Charlie called as he went into their bedroom.

"Finally found the downside to be related to Fred and George," Harry teased from his spot on the couch.

Charlie came out indignantly, having obviously used a cleaning charm before he changed into fresh jeans and a shirt. He was barefoot as he made his way across the room, "_Finally?_ They use everyone they know as a guinea pig except you!"

Harry smirked and stood up, needing to go no more than two steps to wrap his arms around his bonded and quiet him with a kiss. Sirius watched from his own seat and smiled a little wistfully. Maybe he had a chance at happiness like this now.

"So who's hungry?" Harry asked as he released Charlie.

The handlers all surprised Erica a few days later with her seventh birthday party. Sirius hadn't known, and felt like an idiot for not having a gift, until he felt a weight drop in his pocket and saw Harry wink at him. His present ended up being a charm bracelet with charms representing the Marauders, Harry, and Charlie. He was introduced around to all the handlers, many of whom were startled to discover he was alive. Apparently they were all very familiar with Harry's history, even more so than most of Harry's Hogwarts friends Sirius would wager.

It was a little odd, but Sirius felt like he was meeting Harry's true family, and the party at the Burrow had only been a warm-up for this one. The children seemed freer here than in England, and definitely rowdier. He learned that every one of the handlers was Empathic and after that it all made perfect sense.

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	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

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Harry shrunk his bag and shoved it into his pocket. He nervously brushed his hand through his hair, "You've got everything?"

"Stop fretting Harry," Sirius laid both hands on his godson's shoulders.

He was thankful that Harry had grown more accustomed to his presence, and more receptive to affectionate gestures. Sirius had always been a tactile person, showing his feelings with actions more than words, and not being able to hug his godson was the most awkward experience he could remember for many years. Unfortunately, Azkaban had left his memory somewhat spotty, his happiest times buried deep within his mind, locked away until he found a way to uncover them.

"I know," Harry's head bowed, as if he was ashamed of his anxiety. It was more complicated than that, but Harry did not want to look deeper into his own feelings and motivations. He had a terrible sense of foreboding, but told himself he was imagining things, "I just worry about them when I'm not there."

"You have no cause for worry," Sirius assured him. "I will look after their lessons for you, and Charlie is here. The rest of the handlers are more than willing to help out in any way they can."

Harry nodded and braced himself. Sirius was right, he knew. Charlie had told him the same things when they parted earlier that morning, comforted him as only he could, but with Charlie not there his fears had come back. They were without form, and he did not know where they came from, but he could not dismiss them as readily as he wished to.

He flipped open his phone and dialed, then lifted it to his ear and waited for the other end to pick up. He heard a voice answer, "Harry?"

"I'm leaving now Albus," Harry responded, wanting nothing more than to stay. This conference out of any he had attended was the most important though and he simply could not miss it. "I will be in your office momentarily."

"Thank you for calling Harry," the twinkle in Albus's eyes was almost discernable through the phone. "I will be waiting for your arrival."

The call ended with Harry closing his phone. He gave Sirius a tentative hug, the children were spending their day in the hospital tent with Jeremy, learning basic muggle and potion first aid (which for Randy and Kat meant learning how to put on their own band-aids), and bade his godfather farewell for however long this meeting of the Confederation was to last. An instant later he was standing next to Albus Dumbledore in his office at Hogwarts.

The portraits of former headmasters no longer graced his walls, as he no longer held that post. Minerva McGonagall had taken over the responsibilities when Albus retired after Harry's seventh year. Otherwise the office was exactly as it had been since Harry had first seen it. A few of the instruments were moved around or replaced, with much less silver around in deference to Remus, but it had the same feel of security and mystery as always.

"My trunk is packed," Albus twinkled at Harry and patted the pocket of his long coat.

So many wizards and witches had been in an uproar about the location of the meeting for that half-year. The American Wizarding State had not budged in their position though, as they had never yet hosted the International Confederation and were well overdue for such an honor.

Their location of choice was New York City, which required that the delegates all dress in such a way that muggles would not be suspicious. The Wizarding sector of New York was not far removed from the muggle world and neither was the manner of the wizards and witches that called New York home. They were seen throughout the wizarding world and by their fellow muggle New Yorkers as eccentrics.

Harry had never seen Albus in muggle dress before, and his former professor looked so out of place in his very old-fashioned suit and cane, the latter unfortunately a necessity of late. Harry, on the other hand, would not be at all out of place on any university campus in the world in his standard dark blue jeans, black button down shirt, and the same mustard colored suede jacket that Bill and Tonks had bought for him so many years ago.

"I am ready when you are Child," Albus said patiently.

Harry would have objected to the term of endearment if he had not heard Albus refer the same way to his father, to Remus and Minerva. To the elderly wizard, all the staff members of Hogwarts were his children, taking place of the children he lost so many years ago along with the young wife. And to the staff Albus was their surrogate father or grandfather, their confessor, their patron, and in some cases their savior.

Albus took hold of Harry's arm and the office was swiftly replaced with a dark alleyway in one of the largest cities of the world. It could have easily been London but for the difference in the smells and the overall feel. London was a much older city, and Harry had found that magic pervaded its every crevice. Wizards and witches had lived there as long as any others and the very stones of the city reflected that.

New York was loud and teeming with emotion, but not with so much magic. Harry raised his barriers as high as he could and felt Albus lending him strength. He felt guilty, as Albus now had little strength to spare. The old wizard had never felt redeemed from his earlier mistakes with Harry, and continually made any sacrifice he could to make amends. Harry would not insult his teacher by refusing.

"We only need to walk a few blocks to our hotel," Harry told Albus. They had rooms at the Plaza Hotel for the extent of their stay, and one entrance to the conference center, a solely wizarding place, was in the subway station closest to the hotel.

Albus nodded slowly and kept one hand on Harry's arm, the other on his stick. They made slow progress, the elderly man helped along by his caring grandson up the stairs of the hotel and to the registration desk.

"May I have your name sir?" a petite girl with her hair in an elegant braid wearing a neat uniform questioned.

"There is a reservation for two rooms under Potter," Harry said, bringing out his wallet. Gringotts had some agreement with the Royal Bank of England to make travel in the muggle world easier for those witches and wizards so inclined. Harry had a credit card which drew directly from his vault and was able to supply him with currency anywhere in the muggle world that had the appropriate machines. The Ministry supplied him with a diplomatic passport and other identification papers.

The receptionist took his card and the passports, entered some information into her computer, and then handed the items back, along with the room keys. Harry signed for the rooms and a bellboy was called to take their luggage, which had been enlarged discreetly with the aid of a Notice-Me-Not Charm.

Worry for Albus was ever increasing. Harry knew that his mentor had already passed the life expectancy for wizards. More than one person had told him that the only reason Albus lived as long as he did was to see the end of Tom Riddle and ensure Harry's survival through the war. He was touched, but also distressed. He had allowed himself to grow attached to Albus and had no wish to lose him.

"I will be fine Harry," Albus patted his arm, as if reading his thoughts.

Harry dug deep inside to find a smile for him, "So you keep saying. We will soon be deprived of your lemon drops and anecdotes I fear."

"Taking over for Sybil?" Albus twinkled brightly.

"Merlin forbid!" Harry made a sign as if to ward off evil. He tipped the bellboy and got Albus settled before seeing to his own room. They had a few hours before they needed to leave for the welcoming seminar, followed by a banquet lunch and then the start of business.

The luxury of the hotel was something that Harry was unaccustomed to, even after his years at Potter Manor and Hogwarts. He still preferred their small home in Romania and the Burrow over those elaborate settings, as he knew his father preferred Highlands Cottage. Harry enjoyed cooking and the closeness. Having several flights of stairs between his bedchamber and the dining room, where servants prepared and presented each meal, was something he still was not fully comfortable with.

With a sigh Harry fell back on the seductively soft bed, wishing he had Charlie there to enjoy it with him. A little smile crept across his face. He was gone for not more than a few hours and he already missed the presence of his bondmate.

The phone rang and Harry picked it up, glad that he had the foresight to request a wakeup call. He had not slept much the night before and the time difference allowed him to catch a quick nap. Harry thanked the man who made the calls and placed his own call to make sure Albus was awake before stripping and indulging in a quick shower.

Formal clothing was not really to Harry's liking, so he went without whenever he could. The orientation for new students and their families to the Academy was probably the only time every year that Harry wore a suit. He had several formal robes, which were usually worn at this meeting, but with the muggle style dress this year he had a little latitude to work with.

Dark brown suede trousers, black boots, and a sleek black button-down would be sufficient for the day. Harry would almost certainly pass for muggle much better than the majority of his colleagues. He remembered clearly the Quidditch World Cup of his fourth year and the general idea most witches and wizards had of muggle style dress.

A knock came at his door and Harry slung a brown leather backpack over his shoulder that contained all the papers and writing materials he needed for the day. He opened the door to see Albus in a three-piece suit, his beard charmed to appear close cropped to his face, and his long hair pulled back in a ponytail. Harry had no doubt that his papers were shrunk in a pocket.

The instant he stepped out of the hotel doors Harry was overwhelmed and had to stay in place a few moments to center himself, regain his concentration. New York was too much for him and he sorely wished that the Confederation had chosen any other place to meet.

"Are you sufficiently well?" Albus spoke quietly and placed his hand on Harry's shoulder.

Harry nodded, but did not answer. The waited in a tightly packed crowd of muggles to cross the street, and followed a dozen of them down the stairs at the edge of Central Park to the Subway terminal. A bright patch of the wall alerted Harry to the entrance and he and Albus walked directly towards it, pausing as if to read a dirty map before stepping through the wall into an opulent lobby with a gasolier larger than any Harry had ever seen.

It had come as a small surprise to learn that wizarding New York used gas lighting in place of torches and candles. They had switched to gas the same time the muggles did, but never moved on to using electricity. Rather, they continued to pay the muggle company that supplied Manhattan with natural gas.

Turning, Harry saw they stepped through a mirror. Full length mirrors with gilt frames lined the circular room, each with a plaque at the top that gave several locations. From that room they could step into SoHo, Chinatown, the East Village, the Upper West Side, Times Square, and several other locations around Manhattan.

A simple sign on a gilt stand read '2987th Bi-Annual Meeting of the International Confederation of Wizards', and below that, 'The American Wizarding States Welcomes the Delegates'.

Other wizards and witches, some of them wearing garb that could easily be passed of as traditional native costume, were stepping through various mirrors. Many of them were known to Harry, as he had now attended twelve meetings, making this his thirteenth. He wished Albus had not mentioned Sybil earlier, as it was only making him more aware of that feeling of impending disaster and the various 'unlucky' signs he encountered.

"Greetings Harry, Albus," the wizard who spoke to them was wearing a colorful drape of fabric with a busy pattern, and a small cap. He was a delegate from Ghana in the Northern African Wizarding Alliance.

"Obeng," Albus nodded his head in greeting.

Harry nodded his head as well and together the three of them entered the hall where the morning presentation was to be held. At the meeting in March, held in the Russian steppes, it had been a lecture on the advances in Potions, given by Harry's father and several other world renowned Potions Masters.

At that presentation, Snape had announced the advancements he had made in the Wolfsbane Potion which reduced the pain of the transformation to a more tolerable level and as a result decreased the stress of the transformation on the body, potentially extending the life expectancy of werewolves. Though the Confederation had not known it, the presentation Snape made was to prepare the ground for Harry's proposal about fair treatment for 'dark creatures'.

A young witch, no more than fourteen-years-old, her eyes brimming with excitement, handed out the morning's programs as the delegates entered the room. The host country always selected several of their brightest students to act as greeters, couriers, and assistants. In return they were allowed to observe the lectures and the debates once they signed a magically binding nondisclosure agreement.

'The Narrowing Gap Between Muggle and Magic: A Look at the Changes the World Over and Their Impact on our Society'. Harry raised his eyebrows. By comparison to the statement the Americans were determined to make his proposal was going to seem tame and safe. Harry felt his Slytherin side peek out and smirk. After all the delegates were up in arms from this muggle friendly attitude they would be much easier to sway to his side later on.

The day wore on, as Harry had never been good with lectures. He managed to stay awake by concentrating on his barriers and working to strengthen them for what he faced over the next week. He knew that having Sirius around had not been good for this. He had to barricade himself against his godfather's emotions, which were very strong, and doing so was tiring. Normally he had weeks in Romania to relax in preparation for these meetings.

"Are you well?" Albus leaned close to Harry as they took their assigned seats in the circular tiered meeting hall that allowed all the delegates to see each other. It was like theatre-in-the-round, with each speaker standing at the focal point of the circle, at the base of the tiers to present their country's proposals.

He swallowed and nodded tightly, "I'll be fine."

At that Albus frowned, and then sighed, knowing there was nothing he could do.

Days of meetings followed one after the other. Harry, as the speaking representative from the Ministry of Magic, serving Great Britain and Ireland, was scheduled to present on the fourth day. He began with the smaller matters, and found that his fame, as usual, made the entire delegation listen attentively to his every word. Several motions were passed quickly, most of them regarding trade and immigration.

Lastly, with the group in an agreeable mood, he gave his pitch for the change in regulations regarding 'dark creatures', citing the lecture Snape gave the previous year. Nearly every delegate spoke up at once following his introduction, and the longest debate Harry had witnessed, in this case moderated, ensued.

"We must call it to a vote," Harry announced when delegates just began repeating the same arguments over and over.

He collapsed onto his bed at the end of the day, his head throbbing and his skin itching. He felt more claustrophobic than he had in years. It had been a heated session and he had almost no energy left to keep up his barriers by the end. He had been bombarded by suspicion, gratitude, and even hatred. Clothing was flung around the room and Harry buried his face in his pillow. The artificial cooling system in the room raised goose bumps on his exposed skin, which was feeling overly warm.

In his half conscious state he only barely registered the flare of magic in his room, the feeling of utter rightness that swept over him. The bed dipped and a hand stroked down his bare back, lips tracing the same path.

"Albus sent Fawkes to fetch me," Charlie's voice was like a drug, soothing Harry's tumultuous mind and bringing him closer to awareness.

He rolled over and saw the redhead leaning towards him, "Remind me to thank him in the morning."

Charlie smiled wide and removed his coat, then his shirt. Harry reached up and took his face in both his hands, bringing it down to his. Their mouths met and the bond exploded along Harry's nerves, making him feel more alive than he did at any other time.

"Good thing Siri was there to watch the munchkins," Charlie said as he propped himself on his elbows to look down into Harry's eyes. "How did it go?"

"Almost as well as we hoped," Harry toyed with strands of Charlie's short flame red hair. "Remus will be happy though. Each Ministry now has more direct regulatory control over 'dark creatures', so all laws specifically regarding werewolves are now temporarily suspended in Great Britain and Ireland."

"And how are you?" Charlie gave Harry a piercing look. The question was really unnecessary, as Charlie knew exactly how Harry was feeling through their bond. They had established long ago that it was important for Harry to discuss these things instead of letting them eat away at him. Charlie knowing was not enough.

"Not good," Harry replied, "but I'll ride it out. I didn't go into this as secure as I usually do. There are just too many... too much."

"Let's see if I can help then," Charlie murmured as he dipped his head to kiss the hollow at the juncture between neck and shoulder.

Hands ghosted down Harry's sides and he arched into the touch. He focused on Charlie and felt that warmth that Harry associated with love building within his bondmate. Harry blinked and Charlie was naked, his flesh warm against Harry's and the contrast to the cool air in the room was titillating.

Charlie took complete control and Harry surrendered, moving only in response to the passion that surged through them both. He kissed when kissed, touched when touched, and opened his legs when they were prodded apart.

Words were never needed at times like these as their bond brought them as close to telepathy as anything they would ever know. Each feeling, emotion, sensation was shared as if the two bodies and souls were one.

Their combined magic rippled and sparked and created a dance in response to their joining. It never mattered who penetrated who, as the sensation of both the receiving and the giving was felt by both wizards. Their will became as one and all conscious thought was focused solely on the moment of shared ecstasy.

Meaningless words were cried out as the wave of pleasure crashed over them and their bodies pulsed together.

Sweaty and sated, the connection lingered as they came down from the erotic high. Harry's eyelids fluttered, as he had already been tired and worn when Charlie arrived. He felt his barriers growing with a conscious effort from the wizard who was spooning against his limp frame. A muttered cleaning charm from Charlie removed sweat, semen, and any other uncleanliness.

Hands caressed him as his mind relaxed and Harry smiled. He let himself float along the aftermath and sink into oblivion, the powerful feeling of warmth blanketing him.

Harry woke at dawn, having gone to sleep much earlier than he normally would. He let out a little mew of contentment, the full power of his bond sustaining him like no food or water could. Charlie nuzzled Harry's neck in his sleep, Harry's shoulder acting as his pillow.

Still mostly asleep himself, he woke Charlie by kissing his sleeping mouth, ignoring the morning breath. Charlie always woke much more quickly than Harry did, and was soon ordering room service before leading Harry into the shower, a stall large enough to fit six people, with nozzles at three heights on three walls.

It was also a much longer shower than normal, with Harry pressing Charlie into a corner and holding him up with his legs wrapped around Harry's waist. His dragon blood enhanced strength came in useful in so many ways.

Wrapped in bathrobes they kissed lightly and snuggled on the bed until a knock came at the door. Harry went through to the sitting room to open it and bring breakfast in. He tipped the waiter and allowed him to set up the trays of food at a table, then followed the man into the hall and knocked at Albus's door, inviting him to join them for breakfast.

"I am so glad you could get away," Albus hugged Charlie as he entered the room, already dressed for the day.

Charlie returned the hug gently, "There is never a question about it. I think I would be ostracized if I ever put work ahead of Harry." He went into the next room to get dressed before eating.

Harry just smiled and settled himself at the table, still in his fluffy white bathrobe. He was holding onto the sensation that always came with the reassertion of their bond and would seem like he was on a combination calming and cheering potion for hours.

"I have the official decision," Albus held up a roll of parchment.

Harry felt his eyes light up and his second cup of coffee that morning entered his veins, "You'll send it back with Fawkes then?"

Albus nodded, "He'll return Charlie to Romania and then make the delivery."

"We'll have to get Dad to pensieve it for us," Harry smiled in anticipation. This was one of the many reasons he had agreed to do this work. This was what made it worth the headaches, anxiety, and near sickness at times.

Charlie returned and sat next to Harry, serving them both a pile of eggs and toast, with some bacon and a side of fruit. Harry didn't even have it in him to roll his eyes, and Charlie knew it. It was the easiest time to get Harry to eat, with his depleted energy and positive mood.

Albus just smiled happily at them, and the only emotion Harry could feel in the room was contentment.

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Please Review!

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	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven**

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Dinner in the great hall at Hogwarts very rarely differed from one day to the next. The students talked more than they ate, always with the exception of a few boys who could pack away more food than even Hagrid, the staff discussed their days while keeping strict watch over their charges, and the elves kept everyone supplied with as much food as they could possible stomach.

Every now and then Minerva made an announcement or a student fell victim to a Weasley Wizarding Wheeze and George refused to reverse the effects with a bright look in his eye and smirk on his face. He proclaimed that learning to counter the pranks was a learning experience.

The only thing unusual that evening was that Albus was absent. The International Confederation of Wizards was meeting, which meant Albus was away from the castle for at least a week and perhaps more. Remus always missed him when he was gone, as did Hogwarts herself.

As he spent more and more time in the castle and studied her further, Remus felt a growing connection to what many assumed was essentially a pile of charmed rocks. He was almost able to discern the castle's mood, especially when the full moon was near and his senses were at the peek of sensitivity. More and more recently the castle was almost able to communicate complex thoughts to him.

There were certain witches and wizards for which Hogwarts developed an affinity. Staircases moved in their favor, passages appeared to shorten their walk, and portraits greeted them more politely than others. The ghosts were more helpful and the house elves paid particular attention to the castle's favorites. Remus was among those chosen as the castle's favorites, as were Albus and Harry. His guess was that the adversity that they faced while within her walls was what drew Hogwarts to the three of them, and possibly their high level of magical power.

Remus always knew when Harry entered the castle, as she simply brightened in response to his presence. Torches flickered higher, windows and mirrors shimmered, and a feeling of almost giddiness swept through him. It was like the intangible, magical hugs that he felt whenever he returned the castle after a time away. She rejoiced in having him back and let him know in no uncertain terms.

Severus passed Remus a goblet as he sat down at the table, and Remus shivered as he drank his potion. After years of consuming the potion every month he was only just able to conceal a grimace of disgust.

"I am truly grateful Severus," Remus began with a hint of mockery, "for everything you have done to improve this vile concoction, but isn't there anything you can do about the taste?"

Severus sneered, though it had little impact on Remus these days, and none of the former hatred behind it. This was simply a ritual, repeated every month for years now, "I shall ignore your wellbeing then and add some sugar and flavoring. Do you prefer cherry or vanilla?"

"Cherry," Remus said firmly. "And would it kill you to smile now and then?"

George laughed from his spot next to Remus. He had made Remus an unofficial consultant for Weasley Wizarding Wheezes and the two of them worked on product development every Sunday afternoon. They did their research while keeping an eye on the great hall and any students who were working there.

The sneer lightened to a smirk, "I doubt Poppy would appreciate it. She only has a limited supply of Rejuvenation Draughts for all the heart attacks our students would suffer as a result."

"Well next time you have a Gryffindor and Slytherin class after a meal...," George suggested leadingly.

Severus lifted his eyebrows as if contemplating, then shook his head slowly, "No, I would not give them the satisfaction of missing out on their hour in my classroom."

Remus cocked his head and ignored the inquiring looks from his colleagues. Owl post shouldn't be arriving during dinner... unless it was some sort of emergency message. He scanned the room and kept an eye on the opening in the ceiling of the great hall, masked by the charm on the ceiling and sealed against the elements, but not owls.

He was surprised when it was not an owl, but Fawkes that flew into the hall. Fear gripped his heart at the possible message the phoenix carried. More than one staff meeting had addressed what to do when Albus finally passed on, but Remus had always thought it would happen at Hogwarts, not in some hotel half a world away.

Fawkes came to him though, not Minerva, and dropped a scroll in his lap before trilling and vanishing with a flash of flame.

"Show off," Severus muttered, though the Potions Master clearly shared in the collective relief of the staff members. If Albus was gone Harry would have sent Fawkes to Minerva, not Remus.

Remus picked up the scroll but gave Severus a look first.

Severus smirked, "The flames are entirely unnecessary. Fawkes can travel without them."

It was the first Remus had ever heard of it, but remembering that Harry never actually apparated, but jumped like a phoenix did, he wasn't actually surprised. He unrolled the scroll and read quietly and carefully, knowing that every eye in the room was on him.

_By the decision of the International Confederation of Wizards, a sixty-eight percent majority elects to delegate responsibility regarding the laws restricting and granting privileges to... Sweet Merlin_, Remus stared at the scroll and felt his hands shake just slightly. They did it. He didn't know how, but Harry had convinced them, just barely getting the necessary two-thirds majority decision.

"Remus?" a note of concern entered Severus's voice. Somehow the two of them had actually become friends. Remus knew he could never repay Severus for everything the other man did for him, from improving his potion to freeing Sirius from the veil.

He opened his mouth, but no sound came out. His brain was working overtime and he couldn't even form words. Though he had shared in all the research and the writing to develop these proposals to submit to the Wizengamot and Confederation, he had never expected anything to come of it. Truthfully, he had done the work more to appease Harry and Hermione than to benefit himself.

Severus gave up trying to talk to him and snatched the scroll from his hands, "Well, I'm certainly... Congratulations Remus."

The scroll made its way along the staff table, and the students eventually lost interest and went back to their gossip and food.

George hugged him exuberantly, "Way to go Remus!"

As the youngest staff member George got away with quite a bit more than the older professors. Students saw him acting almost like one of them on occasion and thought nothing of it. No doubt he was the only staff member who could hug another in the great hall during dinner without causing a ripple of gossip to spread from table to table.

"Minerva," Remus turned to his former Head of House, seated on the other side of Severus.

"Yes Remus?" Minerva's smile was as wide as it got. She looked moments away from hugging him herself, though Remus knew she would wait until there were no students present.

"If I may, I have some business to conduct," Remus could hardly believe it, and he held the scroll tightly in one hand, as if letting go would allow it to vanish and the world to revert to the way it had been when he woke up that morning.

"You may have as much time as you need," Minerva smiled fondly. "I would not mind dusting off my teaching robes for as long as you are absent."

He had to make his way to the Shrieking Shack before the moon rose, unless he wanted the students to witness his transformation. He stood and felt a smile on his face, something that never happened on the night of the full moon, "I may be away for a few days then. I will let you know."

Smiles and nods followed him out, the entire staff congratulating him silently on his change in status. For the first time since he could remember Remus had the rights of any other wizard he knew. With a pang of loss he wished James and Lily were alive to share this moment, or that Sirius was not in Romania piecing his life back together. His friends who had been so indignant on his behalf should be there with him just then.

Remus woke naked on the floor of the Shrieking Shack. His transformations no longer left him bleeding heavily and broken, just badly bruised and very sore, with some scratches and the occasional cut. Now able to sleep curled up on some cushions under a table, a very den-like space, Remus was actually well rested the morning after a full moon. Oddly, after forty years as a werewolf, Remus had never felt healthier. He had expected to be dead long ago, to never see the day that the laws about werewolves would change in his favor. All in all he was feeling rather overwhelmed.

The first class of the day had started when Remus took the eight potions that Severus had tailored to follow the transformation, including Replenisher and an Energy Draught. Theoretically he could teach on these days, but some of them left him a little strung out so Minerva insisted he rest on all of them. He went back to the castle and down to the kitchens where the elves greeted him enthusiastically with piles of food. Every morning after a full moon they tried to get Remus to eat more than any human or part-human could possibly stomach.

He felt liberated, a touch excited as he apparated to the Ministry from Diagon Alley, his first stop of the day. He handed over his wand for weighing and held back a secret smile when the watchwizard didn't ask for his werewolf registration card. The man might not even know what he was and Remus was elated.

There were three other people waiting for the lift, and they all gave Remus some sidelong looks, most likely wondering why he was so happy. Yet again, none of them knew who he was. While Remus's name was fairly well known in the community, along with his lycanthropy, his face was not. Unless he introduced himself he could be fairly anonymous.

The gate opened, and the four of them stepped inside. The short wizard with salt-and-pepper hair stepped off on the floor for the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. The witch who looked a little like a female version of the Goyle boy Remus remembered from Harry's year left the lift on the floor for the Department of Magical Sports and Games, followed by a taller Asian wizard.

Remus was alone in the lift when it stopped at the Department of Magical Education and he stepped out with just a bit of nervousness. A few of the workers in the area waved to him, former students of his. They no doubt thought he was there on Hogwarts business. He drew a few curious looks, as the students had known he was a werewolf and it was the morning after the full moon.

Halfway down the hall there was a door marked 'Testing'. Remus hesitated a moment before pushing it open and stepping up to the desk where a witch sat, chewing Droobles Best Blowing Gum, bringing up a short-lived memory of Alice Longbottom's obsession with the chewing gum. Her desk was the only one in the room, though there was a row of uncomfortable looking chairs. The walls were white and a black door was just behind and to the right of the desk. There were a few pictures, mostly landscapes, one of which had waves crashing up against the white cliffs of Dover.

"What can I do fer ya?" she didn't even look up from her copy of the _Daily Prophet_ as she wrote in an answer to the crossword. Her hair was poorly dyed blond, dark roots showing, and her bright red fingernail polish was chipping. The robe she wore was low-cut and tasteless, bright aqua.

"I'd like to register for Mastery testing," Remus replied. He had a few moments of dread, as though this could be snatched away from him at any moment.

The witch looked up then and scrutinized him. Remus knew he looked older than his age. His hair was almost entirely grey, and there were small lines around his mouth and eyes.

"The testin' fee is fifty Galleons, payable upon registration," the witch informed him and her eyes went back to the puzzle.

Remus pulled out the money bag he had filled at Gringotts just before he went to the Ministry and dropped it on her desk with a loud _thud_, "That will not be a problem."

Her gaze returned to him and her eyes widened, "Just how many tests didya plan on takin'?"

"Six," Remus replied plainly, as if it were an everyday occurrence.

At that point her eyelids seemed to disappear and her thin eyebrows, much darker than her dyed hair, shot up to her matching hairline, "I'll be righ' back. Stay here."

The girl was up in a flash and darted back through the black door, failing to shut it fully. Remus's excellent hearing was able to pick up the entire conversation.

"This bloke out there wans ta take six tests! Mastery tests!" Bubble-gum chewer exclaimed to someone who was probably her superior.

"Does he have the fee?" Remus recognized the voice and smiled.

"Plopped a bag full a Galleons righ' on me desk," the girl said with a bit of awe.

"Never mind Isabel," the superior sighed and came out through the door, stopping short when she saw Remus. "Professor Lupin! I thought... but you're..."

"Good morning Madame Marchbanks," Remus said congenially, with a short, proper bow. "You thought right." He handed over the scroll that Fawkes had delivered the night before and she examined it carefully, blinked, and looked up at Remus in surprise.

The girl, Isabel apparently, was peeking through the still partially open door, but darted away when Madame Marchbanks sent a sharp glare her way.

"Well, in this case...," Madame Marchbanks straightened her shoulders and held her hand out, "welcome to the Ministry Testing Center. Now, Isabel tells me you wish to take six Mastery tests?" She appeared a bit flustered, but otherwise very professional. She handed back the scroll.

"Yes," Remus replied. "I'd like to test in Defense Against the Dark Arts, of course, as well as Arithmancy, Transfiguration, Charms, Astronomy, and Ancient Runes."

"Oh my," Griselda Marchbanks held her hand to her chest. "You do know that there is currently no wizard of witch alive who holds more than two Masteries?"

"I've had quite a bit of free time over the years Madame," Remus said smoothly, remembering the days when he was essentially living from hand to mouth and reading every book he could get his hands on. He had moved from library to library at the time, finally stopping in Paris where Albus found him the summer before Harry's third year at Hogwarts.

"Please call me Griselda," she answered, rooting around on Isabel's desk for some papers.

"Only if you call me Remus," Remus said patiently. He had waited more than twenty years for this... he could wait another ten minutes for the appropriate paperwork to be found.

Griselda held up a sheaf of parchment triumphantly, "Here we are! I sent Isabel on her break. One test that girl can handle, but anything else and she comes running for help. I'd trade her in if I could."

"She did seem a bit... preoccupied," Remus was generous. The girl had been hopeless.

"Now, we just need you to fill these out," Griselda passed over the stack. "There's one for each test. Who did you apprentice under? They shouldn't have taken you on."

"Yes I know," Remus said with a touch of irritation. "However, you cannot blame my father for teaching me. He tested for his Mastery in France. Then there was Edgar Bones, Nicolas and Perenelle Flamel, and Albus Dumbledore."

Griselda blinked at Remus, "Edgar... and the Flamels? Albus doesn't surprise me but..."

Remus sighed. It was a pain long past, "Edgar did not know at first, and wouldn't take no for an answer. He kept trying to convince me to skip ahead a few levels. By the time he found out he claimed I had already surpassed him."

The Department Head did some quick math in her head. "Weren't you only fifteen when...?"

"Yes," Remus answered sadly. He had found out that the Bones family was attacked and killed just after Sirius had played that nearly fatal prank on Severus. It had been a truly terrible summer. "The Flamels took me in not long after. They were developing the Wolfsbane Potion and decided to further my education as much as they could."

"This all seems to be in order," Griselda examined each sheet of parchment as Remus handed them over. "We can only do one test today, and then two each day following. Is that acceptable, or do you need some time between to study?"

Remus waved her off, "That will be fine."

"Do you have any preference?" Griselda asked him. "We can do this in any order you wish."

Remus thought for a moment, "I'll start with Arithmancy if you don't mind, and take Ancient Runes the same day as Charms, and Astronomy the same day as Defense Against the Dark Arts, then Transfiguration on its own."

Griselda looked down at a calendar on Isabel's desk nodded, "That should be doable. Just follow me Remus, and I'll get you started."

Remus walked with her through the black door and steeled himself for several tiring days that no doubt faced him.

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"Where have you been all week?" Severus asked him as he calmly sat down to dinner the day he finished with Transfiguration.

"I'll tell you soon enough Severus," Remus was exhausted. He had taken a room at the Leaky Cauldron while he was testing but he'd hardly been able to sleep.

"Are you well?" Severus looked at him with a clinical eye.

Remus gave him a small smile, "Perfectly healthy considering. In truth Severus, I can't ever remember feeling better."

"So what mischief did you engage in now that it's legal?" George waggled his eyebrows suggestively and both Remus and Severus nearly choked. Curious glances were shot their way, but seeing nothing remarkable all the professors went about their own business. A few welcomed Remus back.

"None whatsoever George Weasley," Remus scolded. "I'll have you know that just because I am a Marauder that does not mean I live for the sole purpose of wreaking havoc."

"Sure Remus," George grinned knowingly, "anything you say."

"Besides," Remus decided it was time to put the Weasley in his place, "there is plenty of mischief available right here."

Remus was capable of very little wandless magic, but what he could do was sufficient for a little pranking of his own, and had practiced this spell in particular for use against the other Marauders. With a 'pop', George was forced into his animagus form and could not transform back. Severus smirked, conjured a snake, and George the weasel went chasing after it, out of the hall.

"Gentlemen," Minerva scolded them, though her eyes were laughing, "do I have to give the two of you detention?"

Remus feigned surprise and innocence, "Whatever for Minerva?"

"Remus Lupin...," Minerva was building up to lecture tone but Remus's expression didn't falter. "I'll have you know..." He blinked and added the wounded puppy dog look. "You know, you were always much better than Sirius and James at that."

"Perhaps that's why I received fewer than half the detentions for my entire career here than they each amassed our fourth year," Remus smiled at her. He noticed Severus watching the byplay with very mild smirk. Minerva just shook her head and went back to her food.

Severus showed up at Remus's rooms that night, not at all an unusual act for either one of them. They found years ago that outside of Potions, which offended Remus's senses, and Astronomy, which Severus was not at all interested in, seeing it as dangerously close to Divination, they had common interests. They often discussed the latest article in _Arithmancers Assay_, _Runic Readings_, or _The Dark Arts Defender_. Both of them had contributed articles to at least one of the periodicals. Apart from the weekly staff chess game, they occasionally played on their own over a snifter of fine brandy.

"So what was the mission?" Severus took a seat on the couch and Remus handed him a glass of port that he had picked up at a muggle liquor store in London. Severus gave it a light sniff before taking a sip. He closed his eyes, nodded slowly, and sipped again.

Remus was hesitant to tell anyone. He suspected he had done well, but he had not taken a test of any kind since he graduated from Hogwarts. He certainly had not let his mind go fallow, but he had not faced the kind of challenge that the Mastery testing presented.

"If there was anything the laws prevented me from doing... anything at all... it was this Severus," Remus began.

What if he failed? He did not want to let Severus know he had tested, and then discover he had failed. He would much rather keep it all a secret until he got his results, but Remus knew Severus. The Slytherin would find out, one way or another. He had not survived for years as a spy because of his likeable personality. Remus guessed that even the Death Eaters were not fond of the Severus from those times.

Severus smirked at him, "So you got laid."

He swallowed quickly and nearly choked, "Severus!" The glint in the Slytherin's eye made Remus narrow his. Severus actually thought he was a virgin! "I'll have you know that those laws did nothing to prevent me from having an active social life. The law was against relations with full humans."

"Please don't tell me..." Severus looked a little ill.

It occurred to Remus that the only nonhumans Severus actually knew were Hagrid and the centaurs in the Forbidden Forest, having only met Joseph the one time. Remus wrinkled his nose at the thought and shook his head.

"I lived with Joseph for six years Severus after James and Lily were killed," Severus looked up with curiosity on his face. "He saw me as a son, but there were many vampires and werewolves in and out of his home. I took any chance presented to me to escape from my grief."

Remus never spoke of those years to anyone before. The most he had told anyone else was when he told Harry he had lived there for a time, with no elaboration. Remus could discuss many subjects, but sex had never been one of the topics he was comfortable with, probably because of the restrictions he had lived under.

He felt his face heating up, as he never actually discussed sex with anyone. His father had only told him that he was essentially forbidden by law from engaging in any kind of sexual activity. Most people avoided that topic with him at all costs because of the restrictions on lycanthropes. He missed the Marauders, who never avoided any topic.

"I had only ever... once before... and I shouldn't have..."

Severus was shrewd, there was no denying it, and Remus saw that he guessed the truth immediately, "James only slept with one Gryffindor of your year apart from Lily. Who was it Remus?"

Remus felt the blood rushing to his face and he turned away, unable to face his friend. What he and James had done could have landed them both in Azkaban. He was still ashamed of himself every time he thought about that one night.

"I see."

He did not look at Severus, could not detect what the other man was feeling. Remus stood swiftly and went to his bedroom, shutting the door behind him. He had never intended to tell Severus about that. If James's portrait decided to, there was nothing Remus could do about it, but he had not wanted to volunteer the information.

Severus must have left the room at some point, because when Remus emerged again in the morning the port glasses were clean and returned to the liquor cabinet. There was no sign that Severus had even been there the night before.

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Please Review!

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	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve**

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Harry couldn't be more thankful to be back in Romania. The first thing he did, after distributing gifts to his children, Charlie, and Sirius, was to visit Eliza. He was able to go much longer now without her seeking him out and essentially demanding to know what he had been up to and why he hadn't visited her. Perhaps, now that her own infants were on their own, she had accepted that Harry, too, was an adult.

She roared her greeting to him as he approached on foot over the mountain path. While he was able to transform and fly about the preserve, he tended to only take on his animagus form when it was necessary. Harry knew that everyone, Charlie, the other handlers, his dad, Remus, the Weasleys, all feared the day that Harry would transform and stay that way.

It frightened Harry a bit as well. Fully becoming the phoenix was a temptation that Harry was not ready to give in to, but it was always there like a craving from an addiction. Aside from the knowledge of what it would do to Charlie to lose him, there were his children to consider. Carver and Erica had already lost their parents once, and both of them had nightmares for quite a time about that night as well as from the orphanage they lived in until Harry adopted them. He couldn't just take away another parent from them, and allow the twins to experience that for the first time.

Without Charlie and his children, Harry suspected he would have remained a phoenix after the battle with Voldemort. Of course, without Charlie his Empathy may have never woken, and he might not have been able to defeat Voldemort, or in doing so may have become a dark lord himself. He would also probably have sunk deeper into depression the year after Sirius fell through the veil. The wizarding world owed Charlie a debt they did not know even existed.

"Hello Mum," Harry hissed as Eliza bent her head down to nuzzle him. He hugged her snout and leaned into the caring he felt from her.

She nudged him, and then sank down to her knees, laying her wings out flat.

"You want to fly?" Harry hissed to affirm his interpretation of her actions.

The feeling he got from her was positive, so he climbed onto her back. She needed only two leaps before her wings lifted them into the air. She roared and flapped, and sent contentment and joy to Harry. The wind whipped through his hair, and he held his arms out, legs gripping her sides firmly. Dragons flew faster than broomsticks ever could, and when he was a phoenix his thought patterns were different. There was nothing quite like riding a dragon.

They swooped along the ridge, and each dragon they passed roared up at them. Several handlers saw them flying by and waved. Harry saw for the first time the swamp that had been created for Josephine the Swamp Dragon, and the nesting mother sent a short burst of fire their way.

Liza flew for over an hour, covering the full terrain of the preserve. When they landed, Harry stayed where he was for a time and Liza settled down on the grass.

"I did it Liza," Harry hissed to his 'Mum'. "I got them to let Remus be free. First Sirius, and now Remus... I've finally finished what my parents never lived to accomplish."

"Daddy!" Randy was running their way, with Kat, Carver, and Erica close behind. Sirius was several minutes behind them, puffing and panting.

"How big is this place?" Sirius asked as he collapsed, but keeping a wary eye on Liza.

Harry slid down off her back and watched while Liza nuzzled all four children much more gently than she was with Harry. Every time he saw her, Randy tried to hiss at her, but much to his dismay she would only cock her head. Neither twin was a Parselmouth as of yet. For all Harry knew the talent could develop at a later time, or would never pass onto children of his as it was not a natural born talent.

Harry sat next to his godfather, "Over one thousand acres all told. The camp is fairly small, as you saw, and the rest is all dragon country. There are caves, valleys, peaks, and now a swamp."

"Did you have to be all the way at the other end?" Sirius wheezed and sat up.

"You only walked about one mile Siri," Harry grinned. "You could walk ten times that in a straight line and still be on the preserve."

Sirius's eyes widened, "Then thanks for being this close I guess."

"Thank Liza," Harry replied with a bit of a smirk. "She's the one that refuses to live any further from our tent."

"So that's..." Sirius looked at the dragon warily, even though the Potter children were playing with her. One wrong step and she could easily kill one of them, not to mention her fire or teeth, but Harry knew she would never hurt someone he cared about.

"That's my Mum," Harry decided to play around with his godfather a bit. He usually called Liza 'Mum' in Parseltongue only, so no one else ever knew what he was saying.

Sirius shook his head as if to clear it, "Now that's almost harder to believe than Snape and James. At least they're both human!"

"Remus isn't human," Harry ventured, knowing that Sirius had not meant to slight his best friend in any way.

"Yes he is! Harry how could...," Sirius stopped and narrowed his eyes. "You're winding me up on purpose aren't you?"

Harry just grinned. It took another half an hour, but Harry convinced Sirius to get closer to Liza. He wondered if Sirius had given visiting a dragon preserve any thought beyond staying with Harry and Charlie and the kids. The man was extremely hesitant to actually approach a dragon, even a dragon that was actually playing with four small children. Harry wondered briefly where Buckbeak was. The hippogriff might be at Hogwarts visiting Hagrid.

They were still with Liza when it was time to get back to the camp for dinner, and Harry decided to just jump them all back rather than making Sirius walk that far again. The man was extremely out of shape. That was another issue to address then. Sirius had spent far too long locked up in that house, and had a horrendous diet for fourteen years before that.

"Have you decided what you're going to do?" Charlie questioned Sirius over dinner.

The post had arrived while they were all out playing with Liza, and Sirius had received a letter from Remus. Harry was glad that the two of them had been writing back and forth frequently. Sirius wouldn't be able to pick up his life where he left it off, and really who would want that, but he still had his friends and the people he counted as family.

Sirius looked up from his letter, "I have no idea. I don't think they'd take me as an Auror anymore, and I'm not even sure I'd want to do the work. Really, I have no idea what I'm suited for."

Harry glanced over at Charlie. They exchanged a shrug. "You could always try a few things and see what fits," Charlie suggested.

"It's not like you even have to work," Harry reminded his godfather. "You're wealthy enough to do whatever you want."

"I'm still getting over the notion that I'm free," Sirius folded the parchment and stuck it in his pocket. He had been thinking about this very problem since his brain had caught up with the situation. Harry would let him stay for years if he wanted, but he didn't want to impose any longer than necessary. Well... he did, and he didn't. Sirius hadn't really been on his own since he was twenty-one.

"I decided to be an Auror because of my family, and because of your grandfather Harry. He took me in, and was more of a father to me than mine ever was. I was good at it, but those were different times." Sirius frowned. No, he did not want to be an Auror anymore. He'd had enough of darkness.

"I know," Harry agreed quietly. He had enough of fighting dark wizards by the time he graduated. If he never had to do it again he would be only too happy.

"There's no rush," Charlie interrupted the brooding.

Sirius smiled and nodded, and then gave a start when a chime interrupted the pleasant silence that had followed. Harry swore to himself and got up from the table, holding his hand out to summon his phone from wherever he had left it. The display screen showed it was Cyclops calling, one of the few that ever called him on his Order phone.

"Hello?" Harry flipped open the phone and walked into the living area so he wouldn't be disturbing dinner. The kids were nearly finished shoveling food into their mouths and would get loud soon.

"I need you here quick Harry," Davey's voice was full of tension.

"What is it?" Harry immediately asked, and saw Charlie getting up from the table in his peripheral vision. The redhead motioned for Sirius to stay seated. "And where are you?"

"Home," Davey replied shortly, and Harry was shocked. Davey had married a muggle, and he almost never invited wizards or witches into his house, minimizing the use of magic in his entirely muggle neighborhood. "We had a break-in Harry. It's gone."

"Fourche!" Harry exclaimed, hearing a giggle in the next room.

"Precisely how do you know what that word means?" he heard Charlie asking one of the children, followed by, "Jean-Pierre is in _big_ trouble."

"I have no idea what you said," Davey told him, "but my sentiments exactly. Look, the muggle police are on their way and I'd rather you got here first. It might have been stupid kids, or it might have been someone looking for the stone."

"I just have to let Charlie know," Harry said and heaved a sigh. "I'll be there in under two minutes." Harry flipped the phone shut and cast a charm to change his clothing to something more respectably muggle than his ripped jeans and shirt with a snitch fluttering all over it. He went back into the kitchen and shook his head at Charlie, who was hovering in the doorway. "I have to go to Davey's. It might be nothing, but we have to be safe. I'll be back within a few hours I think."

The pouts had to be ignored as Harry kissed each of his children. "But you just got back!" Erica protested loudly for all four of them. Charlie hugged him tightly and reminded him to be careful, as he always did when Harry was called away on Unspeakable business. Sirius looked a bit mystified, and Harry realized his godfather hadn't been told about that aspect of Harry's work. Charlie would explain.

Harry grabbed a lightweight leather jacket, and summoned his muggle credentials. He almost never used them but they came in handy every now and then, and the muggle police would certainly respect them.

"Thank Merlin," Davey looked frazzled. "Take your time. I'll be waiting with Marie outside for the police. The boys are at a neighbor's house for the night. We sent them as soon as we got back."

Harry nodded, a little distracted. He took in the damage done, looking in particular for any magical residue that was out of place. The house was a mess. Tables had been overturned, papers strewn about, furniture smashed. There wasn't an electronic device in sight, which made the robbery look muggle.

He was careful not to touch anything, as the muggle police would no doubt be looking for fingerprints. The only magic strongly absorbed by the house was Davey's, as Jackie had only turned seventeen on September first and so was not allowed to use magic over the holiday.

Harry went from room to room, his barriers to seeing magic dropped fully. There was evidence of a charm here and there, mostly repairs and other things that couldn't be done without magic, and all from Davey.

There was still that black, dirty, dark feel where Harry assumed Davey had kept the stone. It was Davey's study, and the room was typically locked magically to keep Davey's family out and safe. Harry looked closely at the door. It was magically locked, but the door had been destroyed. It looked like someone had taken an axe or something similar and pretty much chopped the door to pieces.

Harry stepped through the rubble and commented to himself that he'd have to show Davey some wards to use on the study in the future. A lock did no good if the door wasn't sturdy enough.

The archaeologist/ Unspeakable had a special dispensation from the Ministry for keeping dark objects in his house. There were a few pieces here and there that had some nasty charms on them, Harry could see that easily, but nothing as dark as the stone, nothing that would be of interest to a dark wizard or witch.

What disturbed Harry in that room was that some of the antiquities in the room were highly valuable. If this had just been a muggle robbery they would certainly be stolen, unless the muggle in question had no knowledge of fencing such goods. But then why had they taken the stone? It didn't have any jewel-like qualities.

Harry went outside and stood by Davey and Marie, seeing the lights approaching from the next block, "Nothing Davey, but I'm not satisfied that it was muggles."

Marie gave him a questioning look. She was obviously shaken, "Why?"

"Did you look over what was taken?" Harry asked them.

Davey nodded, "Television, stereo system, DVD player, VCR, cameras, jewelry, silver..."

"But no artifacts except for the stone," Harry concluded and he saw Davey's eyes widen just slightly before narrowing. Marie nodded along with them. "That's what bothers me. It's like they took everything of obvious value to make it look like a muggle job, didn't use any magic, and their final objective was the stone. Once they found where it was they didn't bother taking anything more. A muggle burglar would have emptied half your study."

"Fuck," Davey's fists were clenched. This time Marie didn't say a thing about his language. "I missed that. No magic means you can't trace them, right?"

Harry nodded, "No one can. We don't keep fingerprints on file, so unless it was muggles hired by wizards or wizards who have been in trouble with the muggle police we're out of luck."

A police car with its lights whirring pulled into the driveway then, and two uniformed officers stepped out, "Mr. and Mrs. Gudgeon?"

"Yes," Davey stepped forward with his hand out. "When we got home the house had obviously been broken into, but it was empty."

The female officer shook her head, "You were lucky. It's highly dangerous to enter your house without knowing if the perpetrator has left."

Davey gave them a little smile, "I'm trained in self defense. My wife took our boys to the neighbor's while I checked the house."

The male officer gave Davey a doubting look, and Harry resisted the smile that threatened. Davey looked very nondescript, wholly unremarkable. He was of medium height, medium build, and not exactly athletic in appearance. Both officers noticed Harry then and he spoke up before the officers questioned him.

"I'm a friend of the family," Harry produced his credentials and flipped them open long enough for the officers to scan and look startled, "just visiting from out of town."

The police went inside to begin their investigation, one of them calling for more officers once they saw the state of the house. Harry turned to the Gudgeons, "There's really nothing more I can do right now, unless you want me to call a few Aurors in?"

Davey shook his head, "I'd rather not. I'll let you know if they find anything."

"I'm sorry I couldn't find anything," Harry gave them a sympathetic look. "You should at least let Tonks and Ginny know about the theft. They can keep an ear out for any dark activity, or news on the black market. Where are you staying? You know the Manor is always open to you."

Marie smiled, "Thank you Harry, but we'll be with Davey's family. Joseph is already on his way over."

"Did Nico and Hestia figure anything out about it yet?" Harry questioned.

"No," Davey shook his head. "They've got a few other things they're working on so I was holding it for a while. Thank you for coming."

"It wasn't a problem," Harry said, his mind still thinking about the stone. He'd have to look into what it was. "Keep me updated."

Both Gudgeons nodded and Harry walked around the back of the house and into the shed to leave without frightening any muggles. His family was waiting for him in Romania, though Randy and Kat were looking very sleepy. He scooped them up and took them to bed, and sent Carver and Erica to brush their teeth and change before sitting in front of the fire with Charlie and Sirius.

"What was the rush?" Sirius asked him.

"Someone broke into Cyclops's house," Harry explained. "They weren't home, and everyone is safe. No magic was used, but the stone is gone."

Charlie grimaced and Sirius just looked at them blankly. He clearly had no idea what they were talking about, as he had only just woken when Davey had brought the stone to the Manor. Harry explained as succinctly as he could, including his doubts that muggles were behind the robbery.

Davey did keep Harry posted on the investigation the muggle police were conducting. No fingerprints were found in the house from anyone aside from the Gudgeons, so whoever broke in had been wearing gloves. The police had no leads whatsoever and were just keeping an eye out for someone selling the stolen electronics, which all had serial numbers. Insurance was replacing everything that was stolen or broken, except for the stone of course, which hadn't even been mentioned to the police, as it had no monetary value in the muggle world.

Over the next few weeks Harry read everything he could find on magical stones. There was no pressing business from the Wizengamot, the Academy, or Hogwarts, and the dragons were relatively peaceful. He had plenty of time to devote, but could find no mention of anything fitting the description of the stone Davey had dug up in Iraq.

He also helped Sirius catch up on his magic, refresh his memory. To get Sirius back in physical shape they were going on long hikes every day, much to Randy's delight even if Carver continually complained he would rather use a broom.

Soon the former convict, illegal animagus would be ready to find a job. They decided to let the wizarding world know of Sirius's return slowly. He could go looking for employment, and let rumors spread about his return. Sirius would simply deny ever dying, and point out that there had been no body.

As what had happened to him, and the mess in the Department of Mysteries overall, was classified information, only a few people would ever hear how he returned. The story they planned to use was that he was in muggle hospital with amnesia for years, until he remembered Hogwarts and Snape found him on the grounds.

"Harry."

Harry looked up from his latest reference text _Grounding Stones in Magical Rituals_ to see his father's face in the fire. Sirius, Charlie, and the kids were out watching the hatching of the Swamp Dragon eggs with omnioculars. It was the middle of October, and Harry had made no progress on identifying the stone. His next step was to examine his memory of it in a pensieve, but he was reluctant to look at it for long.

"Come to Hogwarts," Snape said in a tight tone.

Harry shook his head, holding up the thick book. He remembered the days when Hermione was the only one of them willing to crack open tomes that size, "I'm kind of in the middle something."

"Whatever it is it can wait," It was then that Harry detected the tension in his father's voice. "Pack up your family, take a leave from the preserve, and get up here right now."

Harry set down the book and looked into his father's eyes. Snape nodded and Harry bit his lip. He closed his eyes and nodded, and felt his father's presence leave. Harry stood and raised both hands above his hand. With a sweeping motion trunks were packed for every member of the family, Sirius included, and shrunk in his pockets.

He jumped over to the dining tent first and informed Graciela, the senior handler present that he and Charlie had to go to England for a family emergency. His next stop was the viewing area where about twenty handlers and his family were viewing the hatching.

"It's time Charlie," Harry said, fighting back the pain that was rising.

Every head there snapped to Harry, and sympathy was in almost every pair of eyes, broadcast from all the handlers. The children and Sirius didn't know what was going on, but they obeyed without question when Harry instructed them to hold on. In a flash, the seven of them stood in the great hall at Hogwarts.

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	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen**

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The pestle ground the scarab wings into a fine powder with a little more force than Severus usually used. He was taking out his frustrations on his ingredients, though he wasn't really sure why he was angry. It shouldn't matter to him that James had fucked the werewolf before he had ever gotten together with Severus.

Remus was avoiding him, and had been since that accidental revelation. The werewolf would never have volunteered that information. Sex had never come up in any of their conversations before. Severus scoffed at himself. For some reason he had assumed Remus was a virgin. _That's right,_ he told himself with a snort, _a forty-four year old virgin_. He doubted such a thing actually existed outside of the muggle clergy, and that he even doubted.

Truly, Severus hadn't given it much thought before. If he had, he would have realized that the law left it possible for werewolves and other dark creatures to do whatever they wanted with each other, so long as no children resulted from the unions. It was ridiculous. No one even knew if the curse left them fertile, not that it would be too difficult to figure out.

What was making Severus frustrated was his reaction to the news. He couldn't stop his mind from conjuring up the image of the fifteen year old James and Remus together, perhaps on one of the beds in their Gryffindor room, and his own physical response to the picture they made. That reaction made him angry, and thus the harsh treatment of his potions ingredients... and his students.

He knew roughly when it happened, towards the end of their fifth year, and that it had only been one night. That alone should have told him it was one of James's roommates, and not one of the girls. Severus wondered if the other Marauders had known, and if it had anything to do with Black's nearly fatal prank, or the falling out the four of them had afterwards.

Lily had known about it, which was why Severus had assumed it was one of her roommates. They had both told him it wasn't important for him to know, and he could see why. He would have had a fit then, back when just bumping into Remus made the blood in his veins freeze. He was more afraid of Remus Lupin at that time then he had ever been of Voldemort. Someday he would tell the werewolf that. He would either go into a guilt spiral or find it as highly amusing as Severus now did.

Severus would not approach Remus. Whenever he saw him he thought of James, thought of them together, and became decidedly uncomfortable. He looked at his calendar and cursed silently. The full moon was less than a week away, which meant that he had to start the Wolfsbane that night, and he would have to bring the potion to the werewolf. They wouldn't be able to avoid each other any longer.

He sprinkled the scarab wing dust over the potion he was working on. It was suspended in the fumes until the potion that condensed around each particle weighted it down and it sank into the solution. After it sat for five minutes like that Severus stirred it with a solid silver rod, the silver itself yet another reminder of Remus.

Two hours later the Skele-gro was completed and Severus bottled it for Poppy's stores. Hopefully there would be few enough quidditch accidents this year that he wouldn't need to brew more for a year, the approximate shelf life of the potion.

With a sigh Severus summoned the large white gold cauldron that Wolfsbane had to be brewed in, that alone a reason why no werewolf could brew the potion for their own use. The amount of silver in the alloy of the cauldron would be a fatal exposure. It was an oil based potion, which meant it required precise temperature control, and Severus prepared himself for a long night. He usually started it earlier, but he had let himself get distracted that month, avoiding thought of the werewolf whenever he could.

Albus had returned from New York and informed the staff that all had gone well and Harry was well. Severus had also been visited by Hedwig, who was abnormally long lived for a post owl. Of course, with her feathers already white there was no sign of aging. Harry had written Severus not only about the meeting of the International Confederation, but about Black's progress as well. There was no apparent memory loss, at least no more than Azkaban had caused already.

Thoughts of Black led to thoughts of Remus and Severus cursed again, this time rather vocally. His personal workroom was warding for silence and privacy so there was no threat of anyone overhearing him. Sometime soon he would have to change the wards. If he was ever needed while he was brewing Albus would send Fawkes to him through the wards. No one knew what would become of Fawkes once Albus was gone. Perhaps he would hang a portrait.

Remus had switched seats with George at the staff table, and the Transfiguration Professor quickly covered up his surprise the first time it happened. It was obvious to most of the staff that Severus and Remus had a disagreement of some sort as they no longer exchanged the basic greetings that they had used even that first year Remus had taught when Severus wanted nothing more than to curse him into oblivion.

"You two are worse than Ron and Hermione," George muttered as he sat down. Severus saw Remus's head snap towards the redhead as quickly as his did.

"Excuse me?" Severus said in a low, deadly tone, one that was now heard almost exclusively in the Potions classroom.

George looked back and forth, his face reddening. Severus saw he had not expected his comment to be heard. Had he forgot it was a former spy and a werewolf he was referring to? "Um... nothing... really... don't mind me."

Severus narrowed his eyes at George. He was not getting out of it that easily, "Is that the general opinion of the staff?"

"It's not true?" George wrinkled his brow, then started to snicker. "Oh Merlin... and we all thought... you two... and Harry pushing that law..."

On the other side of the Weasley twin Remus's head lowered to his hands, his face probably turning red. Severus just raised his eyebrows, and turned to look the length of the table and raised his voice slightly, "You all have filthy minds."

Several cheeks reddened before the staff went back to their meals, and Severus suspected he was the only one there sporting their normal complexion. It took much more than insinuations to bring color to his cheeks.

He took a flask out of his robes and poured the potion into a goblet before reaching across George and setting the goblet in front of Remus, "Your potion."

It was the first time either of them had spoken to the other since that embarrassing night.

"Thank you Severus," Remus said quietly.

Severus noticed that the werewolf's voice was low, and though he almost always spoke in a level just above a whisper it was never difficult to hear him. He commanded attention by his very presence.

Over the past several years Severus had learned that Remus avoided confrontation wherever possible, unless he was extremely agitated or furious. James, Black, and Pettigrew were the only people he ever started an argument with. If the friendship they had developed was going to continue at all, Severus was going to have to be the one to approach Remus, and Remus was going to have to learn that it was perfectly fine to argue with Severus.

The full moon was not until the next night, so Severus went to Remus's quarters after curfew that evening, a little shocked when the door opened to let him in before he knocked. Remus waved him in from across the room and Severus saw the werewolf was still dressed in his trousers, but had a dressing robe on over them, open with no shirt beneath.

He had seen Remus naked before, but only right before or after a transformation, when there was too much pain and blood to even consider the body. It was a very well-made body. The plain wardrobe that the werewolf leaned toward completely concealed that the body beneath it was fit like no forty-four year old man's body had a right to be unless he was a professional athlete. Severus did not even need to imagine James and Remus to feel his trousers stirring.

Severus ignored his body's reaction to his friend and sat where indicated, "I am not at all upset with you Remus. If I held resentment to everyone James had slept with I would not be able to talk to any of our contemporaries."

A snort, "Yeah, I know. It was over twenty years ago and I could still list at least two dozen of them off the top of my head, and probably identify more by scent. He must have used a myriad of charms to hide his relationship with you from me. I would have smelled you on him otherwise."

"He did comment on that more than once," Severus nodded and accepted the glass that Remus handed him, raising an eyebrow. It was whiskey that night.

Remus shrugged, "It's a good brand, even if it is muggle. I found it in London earlier this month."

"So you were in London?" Severus was still curious about the errands Remus had to run once he heard about the Confederation's decision. They had already established, a little too thoroughly now, that he hadn't run off to get some.

Remus brought the bottle to the low table in front of the couch and took a seat in an armchair. He stretched his legs out in front of him and sipped his whiskey, not throwing the shots back like he had been just after Black fell. Remus was drinking for the taste again, not to try to push the limit of his extraordinary tolerance, still an unknown.

"Yes Severus," Remus smiled, and Severus knew that neither of them needed to apologize, which was fortunate as apologies were extremely difficult for him. "I stayed at the Leaky Cauldron while conducting some business at the Ministry."

Severus raised his eyebrows. He wondered if Remus was planning to leave Hogwarts, as employment with the Ministry was no longer barred to him, and found that he did not want his friend to go. He could talk to Remus in a way he could never talk to Minerva. After all, she had been his professor once, and was an older woman. She also had never been drawn to the darkness.

"Fine," Remus sighed. "I was taking Mastery tests."

Severus had not expected that. Remus had said that he was doing the one thing that he wanted more than any other that had been closed to him with the Ministry laws. He had always known Remus was intelligent, very intelligent, but did not know he had reached Mastery level in any subject, never mind..., "Wait, did you say tests, as in multiple Mastery tests?"

Remus smirked, "Yes Severus. The multiple of test is tests, which indicates that the speaker is referring to more than one test."

"Gryffindor idiot," Severus grumbled, not at all pleased with the teasing.

"I took six tests," Remus told him, smirk gone, and then drank the rest of his whiskey before leaning over to pour another glass.

Severus did not let his shock show, though Remus would certainly know it was there. _Six_, Severus was awed. Albus had two official Mastery certifications, though he probably qualified for more. "How did you do?"

"I don't know yet," Remus fidgeted with his glass, spinning it in its place on the table, not spilling a drop of whiskey. "I should be hearing any day now."

He nodded, and then smiled, "I would have wished you luck, if you had told me."

"You still can," Remus looked up, his hazel eyes leaning towards amber with the approach of his transformation, and boring into Severus's dark eyes.

"Good luck," Severus let his smile linger, an unusual expression from him, but he found himself happy for his friend, and truly hopeful that his results were favorable. He held up his glass in a toast and drank the whiskey. If this was what Remus wanted more than anything else, then Severus wanted him to have it. "Although I doubt you need it."

"Oh my, Severus Snape is flattering a Gryffindor," Remus laughed and poured more whiskey for Severus.

"You would not be the first," Severus sipped at his whiskey. Remus was right. Despite it being a muggle distillation, and therefore lacking the fiery quality of wizarding whiskey, it was very good. There was a distinct oak flavor, most likely from the barrels it aged in.

They talked for another hour, and the subject of an article on tailoring wards to personal magical signatures came up. Severus discovered that Remus was a font of information on wards in general, and this difficulty in particular. Slightly more surprising was that Remus had written the article, submitted under one of the many pennames he used.

He had known that Remus lived with the Flamels for a time, but not that they had assisted him on the final stages in completing the Fidelius Charm. It was clear that they were assistance only, and that Remus had come to them with the work nearly completed. Severus was impressed. Remus had created an incredibly complex charm before he even graduated from Hogwarts. No one had public credit for the Fidelius Charm, but perhaps that would change soon.

It was getting late, and their conversation was winding down. Severus only had a few shots, as he did not wish to become inebriated. He wanted all his wits about him when discussing an academic subject with Remus. Around the werewolf he actually felt like an academic inferior, a rare instance for him.

"I think it may be time for you to leave," Remus said abruptly.

Severus was startled. He had assumed that everything was back to normal, but he was mistaken, "I thought..."

"Don't make me say it Severus," Remus stood swiftly and charmed the glasses clean, putting them and the whiskey back in the cabinet. He cleared away the parchment that had been used for both of them to illustrate their points.

He felt extremely frustrated and was tempted to snap, but he kept his ire back. His voice was tight, but controlled, "I have no idea what you're talking about. We have been friends for several years now, and truthfully I have not really had a friend since Lily memory charmed me so my etiquette is a bit rusty."

Remus crossed his arms over his chest and approached him, standing very close indeed, just barely inside Severus's personal space. Severus saw that all his muscles were tensed, "Do I need to spell it out? I am a werewolf. It is nearly the full moon. You have been aroused every time you saw me all month, and all this night. If you stay any longer I may not be able to control myself."

"Blast that nose of yours," Severus cursed, growing increasingly affected by the closeness. He never forgot what Remus was, but he often forgot some of the side effects, something he had mentally chided George Weasley for just that night. Years ago such inattention would have gotten him killed.

They stood like that, only inches apart, and Severus tried to figure out exactly what was going on with them. Was he attracted to Remus solely because of the connection to James, or was there more to it? He enjoyed his company, was thrilled to find an intellect that matched, or more likely exceeded his own.

"Do you want to control yourself?" Severus questioned. He wanted to know if Remus was only reacting to Severus's arousal, or if he was interested.

The sound that escaped was almost a growl, "No."

He needed no more. Severus closed the remaining distance between them and pressed their mouths together. It had been somewhere in the vicinity of eight years since he had so much as kissed another, and since James it had all been empty, meaningless, anonymous encounters, picking up other wizards in taverns for a night and leaving before morning. That practice had stopped when his memories returned.

Hands gripped his arms firmly, and then traveled to feel his back, his sides, moving down. They stopped and came around to push at his chest. Contact was broken and Severus was amazed to see that any hint of brown or green was gone from Remus's eyes. They were pure amber, glowing like sun shining through the petrified sap of ancient trees.

"What do you want Severus?" Remus asked him, very obviously fighting the wolf.

For once Severus wanted the other man to let go, to embrace both sides of himself, "I want you."

"Everything?"

"Yes."

Severus was lifted bodily in Remus's arms. No one had picked him up, without using magic, since before puberty hit, and he was surprised at the strength the werewolf showed. He carried Severus as though he weighed no more than a robe draped over his arms. They went into the bedroom and Severus was deposited on the bed, sitting on the edge. He began to undo the fastenings of his robe as Remus let his dressing gown fall to the floor. Severus stopped and reached up for his friend, pulling him down on top of him, sinking back onto the bed. He closed his eyes, surrendering as he had not done in years.

Morning arrived and Severus could hardly move. Nearly eight years of abstinence followed by a full night of fairly rough sex left him aching in a way he never thought he would experience ever again. He opened his eyes and saw that Remus was sitting up next to him, reading. It was an Arithmancy text that had recently been published, and Remus was frowning and marking it with what looked like red ink.

"Good morning," Severus said, wincing on hearing his voice was closer to a croak. Sweet Merlin, even his throat was sore.

Remus leaned down and kissed him, then handed over a vial. Severus smirked. It was one of his muscle relaxants that he brewed for Remus to use the morning after the transformation. He suspected that the werewolf had not needed any when he woke. Remus was simply the most skilled partner Severus had ever had, not to mention the having the absolute largest...

The potion was not tasty. None of his potions were. Flavoring them always decreased the potency and Severus valued effectiveness over palatability. Remus had another vial in hand, a pain killer. After Severus drank that he produced a bruise salve and insisted on applying it. It was strange for Severus. No one had taken care of him of like that... not since Lily and James would gang up on him and force him to stay in bed after Voldemort was particularly harsh.

"Thank you," Severus could get used to this. Remus's hand lingered, tracing the curves from the lower back down to the thigh. Severus closed his eyes and hummed. He was fully relaxed, his guard down completely, as the soft hands kneaded his muscles. He couldn't even remember the last time he had trusted someone so fully. It would have only been James, but he had _never_ completely let his guard down while he was a Death Eater, spy or otherwise.

"Dobby fetched some fresh clothes from your quarters. I think he was the only elf brave enough," Remus chuckled. Severus couldn't even smirk. Merlin, he was relaxed. He merely hummed again in response, thankful he could attribute some of the relaxation to the potion. "You'll probably want to shower before breakfast. I already have."

Severus lifted his head and reached for his wand. It was on a bedside table, though he had certainly not left it there. Remus did know him well, knew that his years of spying had left him still paranoid and separation from his wand was nearly equivalent to impeding death. That was it, his guard was back up. He flicked his wand and saw he had an hour to shower and dress, more than enough time.

"How long have you been awake?" Severus sat up and got out of the bed, stretching out the remaining kinks. He was well aware that Remus's eyes were glued to him.

"An hour or so," Remus replied, his voice a little lower than normal. "I've always been an early riser, apart from my nocturnal years that is."

They were out the door fifty minutes later, only to literally bump into George Weasley, who immediately burst into gales of laughter. He pointed at the two of them, "Don't tell me... last night... oh Merlin... can't wait... Harry... _Sirius_."

Severus groaned, and nearly cursed the redhead into silence. Remus was blushing, yet the rest of his skin was pale. The mutt's reaction to this was not going to be pleasant. He reached out and squeezed Remus's hand. The werewolf would not face his last pack member alone on this one. Severus would curse Black so hard that Phineas would feel it in his portrait if he berated Remus for this.

All his urges to start firing off curses left and right vanished though when a blur of pink hurtled down the corridor of the staff wing, "Bollocks! I'm late!" The pink blur collided with Weasley, sending them both tumbling to the ground, then looked up at Remus and Severus and turned bright red.

"Good morning Dora," Remus said pleasantly.

"Morning Remu," Tonks replied with a deep blush.

Severus decided to ask about that another time and felt his full smirk appear, "You were saying Weasley?"

"Uh," George didn't manage any more before Tonks kissed him soundly, untangled their limbs, and continued her run towards the exit. There was a crash and she apologized to the armor that fell. It bellowed after her.

Remus let go of Severus's hand and helped George stand. He brushed off the redhead's pure blue robes, and Severus realized that Weasley's wardrobe had brightened considerably of late.

"I'm happy for both of you?" George said, his soft smile that was the result of the kiss he received fading in the embarrassment of the moment.

"As we are for you," Severus replied, smirk still in place. "Maybe Molly will finally have her wishes fulfilled, all her brood settled down and breeding."

George's eyes were round as saucers, "No, oh Merlin no, please don't tell Mum. I am not marrying anytime soon. I am not having a dozen little redheaded metamorphs. I swear I won't tell Harry or Sirius or anyone. I swear!"

Remus started laughing and clapped George on his shoulder, "Your private life is your own business, as our private life is ours."

George took the hint, though it wasn't very subtle, and they all went down to the great hall. Remus stopped short in the entrance and Severus's sharp reflexes were all that kept him from crashing into him.

At the staff table Griselda Marchbanks was seated next to Albus, chatting pleasantly. She stood when she saw Remus there and crossed the room with her arms out. She gave the werewolf a quick hug and kiss on each cheek. Severus felt himself starting to glower, and then chastised himself. He would not be jealous of a woman who could easily be Remus's grandmother. Severus noticed Albus looking down at him and twinkling, and the scowl deepened.

"Severus Snape," Griselda greeted him. "I remember your Mastery test quite clearly, the highest Potions rating on record." Severus wiped the scowl off his face and bowed politely. "You are in good company. Hogwarts certainly is lucky."

Severus raised his eyebrows and Griselda motioned for him to sit, then led a reluctant Remus to stand in front of the staff table, in the center of the hall. The majority of the students were already present, as classes began in an hour and they needed time to eat, gossip, read their post, and race to class.

The Department Head cast a Sonorous Charm and cleared her throat, "I have an announcement to make, as you are about to witness an _historical_ moment. As some of you know I am Griselda Marchbanks, Head of the Department of Magical Education at the Ministry of Magic."

There was scattered applause and Griselda smiled. She pulled out a stack of scrolls from her robes and handed them to Remus, who looked at them in a bit of shock, "These scrolls certify that Mastery level has been achieved by Professor Remus Jacques Lupin in the areas of Defense Against the Dark Arts, Charms, Transfigurations, Ancient Runes, Astronomy, and Arithmancy. His ratings for Arithmancy and Defense Against the Dark Arts are the highest on record not only in Great Britain and Ireland, but in Europe and the Americas as well."

The reaction of the students was priceless, and Severus wished he had a camera, then saw that there was one at the back of the hall, no doubt from the _Daily Prophet_. Remus's accomplishment certainly was history. Not only was he the first werewolf to achieve Mastery level in any subject, but he was the first wizard or witch to achieve it in six subjects. This was going to support Harry's initiative very well. Once the hall had recovered from the shock wild applause began at the Gryffindor table and spread throughout.

"Sweet Merlin," Minerva looked like she had just seen the crumple horned snorcack, or whatever it was, that _The Quibbler_ persisted to claim existed. "I always knew he was brilliant but I had no idea..."

Remus passed Albus on his way to his seat, who stood with painful effort and hugged the werewolf. Severus heard, "Simeon would be proud my boy, Nick and Ellie as well. I am proud," and presumed that Simeon was Remus's father.

Severus sat with the rest of the hall, and squeezed Remus's leg under the table, Remus back in his usual seat, where no one could see, "Congratulations."

"Thank you Severus," Remus looked at the scrolls for another minute or so before putting them in a pocket of his robe and attending to breakfast.

"Professor Lupin! Professor Lupin!" A reporter ran up to the table with the photographer.

"There is an hour until classes," Remus said firmly, and Severus silently applauded him. "I will eat my breakfast and then return to my classroom. Once there, you may ask your questions until five minutes before class begins. You may observe my first class if you wish. You will not interrupt the learning process."

"Yes sir," the reporter was quickly cowed, most likely new to the business. Rita Skeeter never would have given up that easily. The reporter then started mingling with the students though and was clearly getting their opinion on their nonhuman professor.

Lunch came, and students were coming up to Remus in an unending stream with question after question. He answered every one of them, until he finally held his hand up and insisted he had to eat.

"I have not been able to get through a single lesson today," Remus shook his head.

Severus let his smirk approach a smile, "You have now achieved fame you realize. We may discover what it would have been like had Harry been hired to teach."

"Oh Merlin," Remus drank a full goblet of juice, which instantly refilled, "why did I take those tests?"

"Because you deserve the recognition," Severus said firmly.

"I am glad to see you two speaking again," Minerva said smugly.

Any retort Severus may have had was interrupted with the arrival of Fawkes in the hall. Though it was not unusual of late for Albus to miss lunch in the hall, it was highly unusual for Fawkes to show up. He held a small piece of parchment in his beak and trilled.

Severus read over Minerva's shoulder.

_Come to my rooms._

The handwriting was not Albus's normal flowing script. It was large and childish print with several ink blots. Severus felt his lunch turn to lead in his stomach. Remus's head perked up, his eyes sharp and knowing.

Minerva stood, "Remus, Severus, Filius, Pomona, come with me. Argus, notify Poppy immediately."

The six of them left the hall quickly, ignoring the instant start of rumors behind them. There would be rumors circling the castle for days and nothing could stop it. Severus doubted any of the staff would have the will to stop it.

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	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter Fourteen**

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Charlie was not at all disoriented upon landing in the great hall as he had been traveling like that with Harry for years, "He's not..."

Harry shook his head, but didn't say any more. Charlie could feel so much pain and fear coming off his bondmate, and the twins were looking up at Harry with their eyes wide and tearing. If Charlie had needed any proof that they were Empathic he had it. He knelt down to their eye level.

"Everything will be fine," Charlie sent waves of reassurance at them, and looked up to Carver and Erica. His adopted son and daughter saw the seriousness of the situation and each of them took charge of one of the twins.

Charlie could feel someone headed their way and he moved to stand behind Harry, wrapping his arms around him. Sirius was at their side, looking highly confused.

"Harry, Charlie, Black," Severus came down the stairs towards them and the children all ran for him. He winced slightly as four bodies slammed into him and Charlie wondered what that was about. Severus leaned down to kiss each of the children on the top of their heads. "You should all come."

"The castle is so sad," Harry said so softly Charlie barely heard him. He could almost feel what Harry was referring to, but only through their bond. The emotions of people, of animals were easy for Charlie to sense, but the moods of an inanimate (mostly anyway) magical structure were stretching it for him.

Severus did not walk with his usual stride. His robes were not billowing and his shoulders seemed weighted down. His voice was almost hollow, "All the students are in their common rooms. The house elves are serving them dinner there as we speak." He paused and tried to straighten his posture as he led them through the corridors, "Albus had a stroke. He's still with us but he's told us... he said he would hold on for another few days."

Charlie had his arm around Harry as they walked and felt all his muscles tense. They knew that something had happened to Albus, but not what exactly.

Sirius's shock was palpable, and the recently returned man tripped on one of the trick steps and had to stop to extract his foot, "So he can still..."

Severus turned, and the mere fact that he didn't comment on Sirius's clumsiness was a sign of how torn up the man was, "He can speak, though his words are a bit slurred. He cannot walk and slumps to his left when seated. He has refused the attentions of any Healer, including Poppy."

"Granddad?" Kat tugged on Severus's robes with one hand, the other being held by Carver. Severus stopped and picked her up. "Was' a stwoke?"

Charlie cringed and Harry tightened his hold on his hand. Randy sniffled and Sirius bent down to carry the boy.

"Uncle Albus is very sick," Severus said, trying to explain in terms a four year old would understand. "His brain couldn't breathe, so part of it stopped working."

Kat looked up at her grandfather and patted his cheek, "He'll be better?"

Severus shook his head, "No Kat. Uncle Albus will not get better."

"Is he dying?" Erica questioned in a trembling voice.

Harry let go of Charlie and scooped up the little girl. Charlie felt Carver edging closer to him and he lifted the boy into his arms. Carver wrapped his legs around Charlie's waist and his arms around his neck.

"Yes Baby," Harry said quietly, "he is."

There was no more talking as they made their way to Albus's quarters. For the first time in his memory as Charlie walked through the corridors not a single portrait spoke. He saw not one ghost. The suits of armor did not rattle, and there were no students. The portraits were almost still, though all in a position of mourning, heads bowed or turned away.

The castle's ghosts were all gathered before the gargoyle that led to Albus's office and rooms, even Peeves sharing in a silent vigil. Though he was no longer Headmaster his office remained in the same location, with the same guardian, and a door from there led to his quarters.

Charlie had not been close to Albus during his days as a student, nor in his early days as a member of the Order. In fact, Charlie could count on one hand the number of times Albus had specifically addressed him before Harry's sixth year.

He had become involved with Harry then, and suddenly Albus Dumbledore's attention was on him. Even if he was only suddenly important in the old man's eyes because of Harry he still appreciated the chance he was given to get to know him, and he too felt the pain of losing him.

"Severus," The Bloody Baron bowed.

"Baron," Severus returned the bow, though only with a nod of his head as he still held Kat.

"There has been no change," The Baron informed them as the gargoyle moved aside without any password being spoken.

The stairs brought them up slowly, more slowly than they had the last time Charlie was there. Kat and Randy were both fidgety and teary. Charlie had no doubt that they were picking up on the emotions around them and he knew that he and Harry would have to start teaching them control.

As well as Charlie had gotten to know Albus, he had only been in the office a handful of times. It had not changed much. Silver instruments continued to spin and whistle, and the sun shining through the window was deceptively bright and cheery.

Severus put Kat down in Albus's chair and motioned for them to stay. He disappeared through a door and Charlie stopped at Harry's side, setting Carver down as Harry lowered Erica to the floor. Randy remained where he was, clutching Sirius's shirt.

"Minerva and Poppy are in with him. He'll see Sirius first, and then all the Potters and Charlie," Severus took Randy from Sirius, and the boy whimpered and buried his face in Severus's neck. Charlie did a quick assessment, decided Harry was stable for the time being, and went over to his father-in-law and his son as Sirius went through to Albus's room.

"Ra?" Charlie said the boy's second nickname, only used when Randy was very upset.

Randy sniffled and shook, "Daddy. It hurts."

Harry was always 'Daddy', and Charlie almost always 'Dad'. They had picked that up from Carver and Erica, and used those names unless one of the twins was particularly upset. In those cases, either one of them could be referred to as Daddy.

Severus had a lost look on his face, but Charlie had to concentrate on Randy. He glanced quickly to Kat. She was doing better than her twin brother, but she was sharing Albus's chair with Erica, who was singing to her softly. It sounded like one of the lullabies that Charlie's Mum sang to her kids when they were little. She must have carried on the same nighttime traditions when her grandchildren visited.

Charlie ran his hand gently through Randy's hair and focused on the four-year-old's emotions. More than anything Randy was confused, not understanding why he knew everyone else was so sad.

The door opened and Charlie felt that it was Remus before he saw him, with his usual edginess in the presence of so much silver. Stroking his hand through Randy's hair, so exactly like Harry's, and sending comfort and caring to the little boy, Charlie turned to look at Harry's honorary uncle. The full moon was only hours away and Remus was showing it. He looked tired and worn.

Severus had noticed the entrance as well and he made eye contact with Remus. Charlie felt something pass between them and saw Harry's head snap to look at them at the same time. Both adult Empaths looked back and forth from Remus, to Severus, and back to Remus. Harry gave them a little, weak half-smile and nodded his head before going back to watching the door that led to Albus.

Remus froze when Harry and Charlie were inspecting the two of them, and Severus frowned. When Harry smiled and then looked away both of them relaxed just slightly and exchanged nods with Charlie. He wasn't really surprised that something had developed between them. George had been hinting around about it for months.

Sirius was only in with Albus for ten minutes or so and came out looking thoughtful. He spotted Remus and smiled, "Moony."

"Hey Padfoot," Remus returned the smile and Sirius crossed the room to hug him.

Severus tensed and Charlie laid his free hand on his father-in-law's arm, "Calm down Severus. There's nothing there."

Severus raised an eyebrow at him and they continued a whispered conversation, "How would you know?"

"Sexual attraction draws Empaths like honey draws bees," Charlie continued trying to comfort his son. "Even the weakest Empath can feel it more strongly than anything else. I can guarantee you Sirius stays with female partners only and Remus feels nothing sexual for Sirius."

Sirius and Remus parted and the ex-convict turned to the rest of room, "He wants the Potters and Charlie now."

Randy was passed from Severus to Charlie and Harry herded the rest of the children into the sickroom. Once inside Randy squirmed to be released and nearly ran to Albus's side. He and Kat both climbed onto the bed, much to the surprise of Minerva and Poppy.

"Harry, I don't think...," Poppy began, but stopped when Albus waved his right hand. His left side looked limp, like it was a dead weight on the rest of his body, which it probably was.

Randy crawled up to touch Albus's chest, "It doesn't hurt."

"You're not sad Uncle Albus," Kat kissed his cheek. "Why is everyone else sad?"

Poppy and Minerva both gaped at the twins. The two children didn't spend much time at Hogwarts, and their Empathic skills were only starting to surface within the past month or so. Not even Charlie's parents or Severus had been told about it yet, though Severus had to know by now. Albus touched each of them gently with his right hand.

"Everyone is sad because I'm going away and they will miss me," Albus told the pair.

Kat and Randy looked at each other, but they clearly didn't understand. Randy pressed on, "But you're happy, shouldn't we all be happy?"

Charlie felt a wave of anguish and saw that Harry had turned away. He had gone over to the window where Fawkes was perched. The phoenix trilled and Harry absentmindedly reached up a hand to stroke his feathers.

"I want you to be happy," Albus said to the twins.

"Us too?" Erica and Carver came closer to the bedside.

Albus smiled at them, or at least tried as only one side of his mouth obeyed, "Yes, you too. I love all of you."

Both older children kissed his cheek. Erica sniffled, "We love you too Uncle Albus."

"If you want us to be happy," Kat said.

"We'll be happy," Randy finished for her.

For just an instant Charlie had a flash of memory from when his brothers were young and feared that Kat and Randy would be forever finishing each other's sentences now and speaking for each other, even more in tune than Fred and George were because of the Empathy they shared.

"Your Uncle George is here," Albus talked to the children. "I need to talk to your Daddy."

"Good-bye," Carver kissed Albus again and his siblings all followed suit. They went out to the office and Charlie saw a flash of red as George kneeled down to greet his nieces and nephews.

"Harry," Albus spoke when the door closed. Harry sniffed, but wouldn't turn around. "Please Harry, I haven't much time left." Albus gave Charlie a pleading look.

Charlie stepped quickly to Harry's side, and just in time it seemed, as Harry stumbled into his arms. He was shaking and tears fell silently down his face. He barely held himself together as he crossed to Albus's side.

"Why Albus?" Harry asked as he sat on the edge of the bed, holding onto his teacher's hand. "Why did you do it?" Albus gave Harry an inquiring look, and for once Charlie had absolutely no idea what Harry was talking about. "Why did you let me get so close if you were only going to leave me?"

The pain Harry was feeling was like a dagger through Charlie's heart. He knew that Harry and Albus were close, that Harry saw Albus as sort of a combination mentor and grandfather. He also knew that it had taken Albus years after Sirius fell through the veil to rebuild that trust.

"I was selfish Harry," Albus said with difficulty. "I loved you the day you were born, and I never stopped."

Harry's tears and shaking increased, and Albus pulled him down with his good arm to hold him close. The two of them stayed that way for several minutes, until Charlie felt Albus's emotions simplify and knew that he was sleeping. He reached down and gathered Harry into his arms, casting a cleaning charm on him and holding him tightly. Poppy moved to Albus's side and did a diagnostic check.

"It's all he'll let me do," Poppy said sadly as she checked a monitoring charm.

Minerva sniffed and pulled out a handkerchief.

"I'm sorry," Harry mumbled into Charlie's chest, though it was loud enough for them all to hear.

"When will you stop taking responsibility for things beyond your control?" Minerva asked him a bit sternly. Charlie could feel that she too was in pain, but hid it well.

Harry shook his head, "He won't take the Elixir. I've been trying for years but he told Nick no and he told me no."

"And you respect his choice," Charlie said firmly, knowing that Harry was going to spiral out of control soon if he didn't bring him back. He had to ignore Poppy and Minerva's surprise. They didn't know that Nicholas and Perenelle Flamel had left the Elixir of Life to Harry in their will. "He doesn't want you to be like this Harry. Respect that choice too."

Harry glared, but it was short-lived. He nodded sadly and accepted the potions that Poppy passed to him. There was a calming draught, a cheering draught, and an energy elixir, all of which Harry needed if he was going to get through the next few days without hiding in his phoenix form.

"Could you notify the Order Charlie?" Minerva asked him. "I have too much to do as it is."

He nodded and led Harry away. He saw that Minerva went through another door, and wondered if she had a direct path from her office to Albus's rooms in the event of an emergency just like the one that happened.

In the office the adults were all mystified by the children that had gone into the sickroom teary and quiet, and came out smiling. All four of them were on the floor with parchment and crayons that Albus kept in his office just for them.

"They're so resilient," Remus commented.

"Uncle Albus said he wants us to be happy," Carver told the adults as though lecturing them, "so we are going to, just like you should."

"Out of the mouths of babes," Severus mumbled under his breath.

Stunned faces watched as the oldest of the Potter children went back to his coloring. Charlie saw that George was talking to the kitchens through the fire, and he realized that dinner time had passed. It was a wonder that none of the children had complained they were hungry.

He flipped open his Order phone as Harry went over to his father. The two of them talked in low tones while Charlie sent out the message. The Order had foreseen that everyone would need to be notified if something happened to one of the members, now that the war was past and their lives were not constantly at risk. Such a measure would have been impractical before, as death was much more frequent during war.

_Phoenix Alert. Hogwarts. Dragon_.

Charlie typed the message in, thankful that the phones could send text, and pressed the combination to send it to every Order phone. Albus was 'Phoenix' as the leader of the Order of the Phoenix. Each of them had a code name in case someone outside got hold of one of the phones. The message 'Alert' signified that Albus was not dead, but close.

Tones sounded from the other four Order phones in the room, but were ignored as they knew what Charlie was doing. Charlie made a note to find out where Sirius's phone was, as he should certainly have a way of communicating with everyone.

"Your secret is coming out a little sooner than planned I think," Charlie said to Sirius.

He just nodded, "It won't be too bad. The whole world will be mourning Albus. My return will be insignificant in comparison."

"It's not insignificant to us," Harry reassured his godfather.

Food appeared, along with Dobby who was oddly appropriate in that he was wearing all black and not bouncing around in his usual hyper manner. They ate quietly, and George left to wait outside the main doors and inform all the Order members that came of the situation.

"The castle prepared a suite for us," Harry was talking to Severus. "I expect we'll be here for a while."

Severus nodded and hugged Harry, and Charlie watched Sirius trying to make sense of everything going on. Sirius followed them out, and Charlie expected there would be a room for him in the suite the castle had ready for them, as he had been staying with them since his return.

In their temporary home Harry enlarged the trunks he had packed and sent them to each room. Charlie knew that House Elves would appear the instant the trunks landed to unpack them. It was still early for the adults, though it was past bedtime for the children, but they all went to bed anyway. Charlie let Harry set the mood, and was content to just hold him quietly for hours, until sleep took them both.

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	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter Fifteen**

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**REMUS LUPIN FIRST WEREWOLF TO ACHIEVE MASTERY**

FIRST WIZARD TO ACHIEVE SIX MASTERY SUBJECTS

The headline of the _Daily Prophet_ surprised everyone at breakfast the next morning. Remus had all but forgotten about his accomplishment in light of what was happening to Albus. He felt a crushing hug, and knew it had to be Harry. No one could come that close to matching his own strength, with the possible exception of Hagrid. If it was Hagrid hugging him there would be more than two thin arms around him. Hagrid's coat, his beard, his bulk, gave him away every time.

The full moon had been a difficult one. The wolf, in its pain with the imminent loss of Albus, was fighting the Wolfsbane Potion. Sirius had joined him as Padfoot though, and for the first time in years he had a transformation with a member of his pack. He had howled at the moon through the window of the Shack, joined by a second canine voice. Once the wolf had submitted to the human mind, Moony and Padfoot had curled up and slept.

Sirius had been astonished that Remus could attend breakfast the next morning, even if he usually didn't, and grudgingly admitted that Snape must have changed if everyone was so friendly to him and he was helping Remus as much as he was. It was a relief to Remus and he knew he shouldn't hide things from his best friend, but he was not ready to tell Sirius just how much he trusted and admired Severus.

There was a picture of Remus accepting the Mastery Certificates from Griselda Marchbanks, and another of him in his classroom talking to the reporter, yet another of him teaching. He had completely forgotten about the interview when news came of Albus's stroke, and nearly forgotten about his test results.

"I hope you're not looking to take my job," Arithmancy Professor Vector asked him from down the table, a hint of smile on her face.

"One subject is almost more than I can handle Rowena," Remus smiled at her.

The staff was all smiling and going about their daily business. Albus had requested than no one outside the Order be informed of the situation until it was time to make arrangements for his Memorial. The Potters and Charlie joined the staff at their table, but the rest of the Order was eating in a room that Hogwarts had produced for that purpose, making rumors less likely.

The castle had essentially created a special dormitory for the Order. It had a common room with suites off of it, and Floo access so the members could continue going to work. The majority of them took leave anyway. Ginny even brought her fiancé with her, though how he was getting to work Remus had no idea. He could find out by asking Hogwarts, or checking his map, but he was satisfied to leave at some mysteries unsolved. Several days passed with no change to Albus's status or the mood of the castle.

He was worried about Harry, and he knew he was not the only one. Severus was declaring himself unfit as a father again, and Charlie was looking careworn. It was not at all unusual to find Harry, when he was not sitting silently with Albus, behind a pile of books in the Restricted Section of the library. Wherever Harry was Charlie would not be far away, but it was obvious that Harry was retreating inwards again.

Harry did not usually attend Order meetings, as the number of people there was a deterrent. It had been a mistake that Harry and Charlie were not included in any of the planning for Albus's eventual deterioration. They had all allowed Harry to ignore what was coming, and it was now hitting him hard.

Remus entered the library and Charlie looked up, his shoulders bent in some sort of defeat. It looked like Charlie was having no more luck with Harry than any of them were.

Harry's head lifted quickly and his eyes met Remus's. Remus shook his head to the unasked question and Harry's eyes went back to his book. Remus looked at the stack of books next to the open one, reading their spines. Harry had over a dozen books on the properties of magical stones, magical relics, and the magic of Ancient Babylon.

"Stones?" Remus questioned. He, along with most of the Order, had assumed that Harry was looking for a way to save Albus.

"He won't let me help him," Harry's voice was rough. "He won't even let Fawkes help. I have to keep busy somehow."

Charlie had his own book, an old treatise on dragons. He put it down to join their conversation though, "Have you talked to Cyclops?"

"He doesn't know anything," Harry shook his head. "He's already told me everything he could find out. I have pictures of the excavation and a pensieve with memories of the stone from both of us."

"I wish you wouldn't use that pensieve," Charlie moved closer and laid a hand on one of Harry's. Harry looked guilty, but said nothing.

Remus vaguely remembered that Davey had mentioned a stone that was stolen from his house. His almost adoptive little brother had seemed worried about it, but told Remus there was nothing anyone could do.

"What are you trying to figure out?" Remus sat down at the table. If Harry wanted distraction he could help.

Harry ran his fingers through his hair, just like James used to, "I need to know what the stone was used for. The dark magic was just... there was so much of it... nothing in here..."

Harry's eyes went unfocused for a moment and Charlie moved to speak but Remus held a hand up. He knew exactly what was happening. Harry was on the verge of discovering something and an interruption could make him lose it.

"What if it's not a stone?" Harry wondered aloud.

"Hmm?" Charlie made a vague, questioning sound.

Harry turned to Charlie with more life in his eyes than Remus had seen in days, "It could have been transfigured to look like a harmless stone, so it could really be anything. I didn't look at it long enough to figure out because the dark magic is so sickening." His eyes went to Remus then, "Could you make a pensieve that was interactive? I don't need the people to answer me or anything like that, but I need to examine that stone and it's gone now. If we know what it does we might be able to find out who took it."

Remus instantly considered and discarded several possible methods. He took a blank piece of parchment from the stack Harry had and reached into his pocket for the muggle pen he always carried with him.

"I might be able to," Remus scanned the book titles Harry had, realized none of them would help him, and got up to head straight to the section he knew had information on pensieves. He knew the library there as well as anyone, possibly better than anyone except Irma Pince. Returning to the table he saw Charlie was amused at the stack of books he had accumulated, "I'd have to dissect the spells used to create a pensieve first of all, like we did with the Knight Bus. There's nothing like what you're talking about already."

So Remus was drawn into Harry's latest project. They worked together well, with their strengths lying in completely different realms. Charlie mostly watched, though gave his input every now and then and made sure that both of them ate. Remus noticed that Harry barely touched whatever food was put in front of him, and that Charlie continually persuaded him to take nutritional potions.

"So this is where you've been hiding," Severus entered the library a few hours after Remus did. He looked at the notes Remus had in front of him and shook his head, "What is it now?"

"Manipulating memories in a pensieve as you're viewing them," Remus spoke distractedly while he leafed through a book. He chewed on the end of a quill, a habit he picked up from Sirius in their Hogwarts years that he never managed to shake. "I'm starting to think maybe a different path is needed."

Severus gently removed the quill from Remus's mouth, "Yes?"

Remus let out a little chuckle. It felt wrong laughing with Albus dying in that very castle, but Harry definitely had a point about keeping the mind busy to keep from worrying constantly. Most of the staff and the Order members in the castle seemed to be going around in a bit of a daze.

He was glad that Hogwarts gave Harry, Charlie, Sirius, and the kids a suite of rooms separate from Severus. Remus and Severus had taken to spending the nights together in one of their rooms, whether or not they engaged in intimate relations. Just having someone to wake up next to was reassuring the past few mornings. If Sirius had been staying in either of their rooms it would not have been possible.

"Tell me more about when you and Harry broke his blocks," Remus looked up at Severus. "He might be able to interact with his memories in a trance, or something along those lines."

Harry looked up and lifted his eyebrows, and Severus did the same.

"Now that is just weird," Sirius commented as he joined them. "I didn't see the resemblance before."

Sirius and Severus had been remarkably well behaved of late, as if by mutual silent agreement they declared a truce while Albus was ill. Severus had to take up some of the slack from Minerva in running the castle while she sat with Albus, and Remus knew he just didn't have the energy for the rivalry.

Severus began talking and Sirius carelessly spun a chair around and plopped down on it. Both Severus and Harry winced at that. It had taken a long time, but Severus had managed to drill some etiquette into Harry, or at least a measure of respect for furniture.

"Do you have to mistreat the furniture?" Severus broke off his explanation to ask.

Tension rose and Sirius looked like he was about to snap something insulting. Remus closed his eyes and dropped his head, knowing he was about to get pulled into the middle. He heard Sirius take a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"Not really," Sirius replied calmly, though a bit aloof. "Honestly though, James was ten times worse. I don't know how he ever managed to sit in a chair without knocking it over and landing flat on his ass."

"True," Severus conceded, and let the subject drop, a little smile on his face.

Remus opened his eyes and looked back and forth between them, then noticed Harry smirking into the book he was reading. He would have to ask him later exactly what was going on. Every now and then Harry was positively Slytherinesque, and Remus suspected this was one of those times.

They all stopped in to check on Albus before dinner, which Remus and Severus were required to attend in the great hall. Still, there was no change. Remus pulled Harry aside.

"What was that with those two?" Remus spoke in a whisper, not wanting Severus or Sirius to hear.

Harry's smirk returned, "Weeks ago Dad promised me he wouldn't start anything with Sirius. A few days ago I made Sirius make the same oath."

"So if either of them starts an argument...," Remus was truly impressed.

"They've broken their word to me and I get to thoroughly chew them out before it escalates," Harry finished, looking very satisfied with himself.

"And how long do you think it will be before they realize what you've done?" Remus was interested in what Harry was trying to accomplish, besides avoiding a headache.

"Long enough I hope," Harry sighed and looked back. Severus was talking to Charlie and Sirius had joined the rest of the Order members. His presence had created a stir almost equal to the reaction to the news about Albus. "They may actually discover that they've both changed since they were fifteen. If nothing else, they'll be civil at least until this is over."

Remus had noticed more than once that Harry refused to say that Albus was dying, or even speak about his health. He doubted that Harry was in denial, as he did not usually take that path anymore, but it was certainly possible that Harry was avoiding his feelings on the matter when he was outside of Albus's presence.

They met up with Molly, who was watching almost all of her grandchildren during the daytime. She had Carver and Erica, the Potter twins, Benjamin, and a few toddlers with her. He wondered how she managed them all, but reflected that after raising seven children there was probably very little that Molly couldn't handle. Randy and Kat ran to Harry, who swung them both up with an ease that did not match his appearance, and Remus dropped back to Severus and Charlie.

"He's only getting an hour or two each night," Charlie was telling Severus. "He hasn't used any sleeping potion since he was a student here, but I'm tempted to slip some in his coffee. He's working himself too hard during the day, then sitting with Albus almost all night and sending Minerva to get some sleep."

Severus shook his head, "You know as well as I that he'll never take them willingly, and he'd be furious with you if you drugged him." Charlie sighed in defeat. "He'll crash, and we'll just have to pick him again."

"Why does he do this to himself?" Charlie asked, though Remus knew he wasn't expecting an answer. It was just his frustration speaking.

All of them were aware that Harry still believed he owed the wizarding world something. Otherwise he wouldn't strain his own health by attending the Wizengamot and Confederation meetings. The papers and public didn't help matters, as they often turned to Harry with questions about whatever the latest issue was.

He was expected to be stronger than anyone, know more than anyone, and shoulder the weight of the world without complaint. It was about time for Harry to be selfish for change, but he didn't know how, and none of them knew how to teach him. All of them were self-sacrificing in their own ways.

Remus went to Severus's quarters that night. It was late, as Sirius had come by and they had gone through pictures and talked about the past. Remus found several holes in his friend's memory and supplied the stories to fill in the gaps. At those moments the frustration and confusion showed. Though he had a blank of the seven years he was trapped by the veil, the damage done by Azkaban was worse. The dementors had literally stolen many of Sirius's happy memories, almost all of which were centered about the Marauders.

"Where have you been?" Severus hugged him when he entered and Remus closed his eyes, taking in the smell and feel of the person the wolf had recently identified as his mate. The wolf had never taken to anyone the way he did to Severus, and Remus wondered often whether to tell him.

"Talking with Sirius," Remus replied. "I couldn't very well tell him he had to leave so I could get into bed with you."

Severus snorted, "His reaction would be priceless."

Remus shook his head, "None of us needs that right now."

They were comfortable together, and Remus thought that perhaps that mattered more than anything else at that stage in their lives. For Remus, there was no telling how much longer he would live. The Elixir had arrested, and even reversed the symptoms of deterioration that had started to show during Harry's seventh year, and they hadn't returned. He had been contacted by 'experts' from all over the world who wanted to study how he had lived that long, but he had refused every one of them. He had no desire to expose the Flamels, even in death, of sharing the Elixir with him against his will when they had refused every supplicant that tried to contact them.

"What are you thinking about?" Severus stepped back.

"Us," Remus answered honestly, "death."

Severus wrinkled his forehead, and Remus had a sudden urge to kiss him, but didn't want to interrupt his thought process, "And precisely how do the two relate?"

"I don't know how much time I have left," Remus told Severus. "You know I haven't felt any symptoms again, but they could return any time."

"And I could run into one of my former associates and get cursed," Severus countered, "have a heart attack from every Gryffindor in one of my classes simultaneously exploding their cauldrons, or fall into the lake in the middle of winter. The only thing in life that is assured is death, and freezing my ass off each winter in this drafty castle. Don't dwell on the inevitable."

"I think that's the longest speech I've heard from you," Remus smirked.

Severus rolled his eyes, "It is late. Did you walk here to philosophize, or are you coming to bed?"

"Lead the way," Remus gestured towards the bedroom.

It was amazing how quickly they had fallen into a pattern, how well they worked together. Remus watched Severus while they both undressed and put on pajamas, neither of them partial to sleeping naked. Scars littered their bodies, and they both looked like they could use a good meal. Their age showed, with grey hairs on Remus and lines on Severus's face.

Severus turned to him after putting his robes away in his wardrobe. Somehow, after only a few days of this, they each had at least one set of clothes in the other's rooms. They came together and kissed, still with a little excitement of exploring new territory. They had not actually had sex since that first night, both of them too preoccupied and upset. It felt wrong somehow, to be engaging in such a celebration of life when a man they both saw as a substitute father and mentor lay dying.

They slept holding onto each other, neither speaking of their fears or what was happening only a few doors away.

Remus woke, startled, and looked around for whatever it was that pulled him abruptly from sleep, Severus doing the same. There was a noise, two noises, one a low chime and the other like a bird song.

Both of them summoned their Order phones hastily and opened them to read the message on their screens.

_Phoenix Lost. 2:37 AM, 30 October 2004. Hogwarts. Cub Witness. I hate Halloween._

Remus felt tears spring to his eyes. He got out of the bed and pulled on his dressing gown. He saw that Severus was getting fully dressed. He would never leave his quarters in anything less than his customary black robes, covering him from neck to toe. Severus's face was completely composed, but a few tears escaped and rolled down his cheeks.

He had seen almost every emotion possible in Severus Snape. He had seen him raging, fearing for his life, frequently annoyed, in the midst of pondering some academic pursuit, and just recently letting go completely and surrendering to passion, but he had never seen Severus cry until that night.

"We should go," Remus said softly. He wiped Severus's cheeks with his fingers and kissed him softly. "The others will be gathering."

Severus nodded and cast a charm to clean away any traces that he had actually succumbed to human emotion and wept at Albus's passing. They stepped out of the door of Severus's quarters only to find Sirius and Charlie walking past just then. Sirius's eyes widened and his mouth dropped open, and Charlie winced.

"Not now Sirius, please," Remus gave him a pleading look. He just couldn't deal with Sirius's explosive temper.

Like in their sixth and seventh year whenever Remus asked Sirius to stop something, Sirius just deflated and nodded, "How long?"

"Just a few days," Remus replied, more thankful than he could say that Severus was keeping quiet.

Sirius shook his head and rubbed his face with both hands, "I may never understand, and I'm too shocked for anything else, but if you're happy..."

"I am," Remus said quietly. He was surprised when Sirius hugged him tightly.

"You hurt him, I kill you," Sirius said to Severus without emotion, without his usual vitriol.

Severus just raised his eyebrows and nodded, "I expected as much."

They were not the last Order members to arrive in Albus's office, but they were the last of those who were living in the castle. Remus suddenly realized that Harry was in there alone with Albus. He turned back to Charlie.

"Why are you out here?" Remus asked, almost accusatory.

Charlie sighed, "Harry sent me to get Sirius. He doesn't have his phone."

The Floo flared as those members who stayed outside the castle came in. It had been quiet for a few minutes and Remus couldn't see that anyone was missing, except for Albus and Harry. The door opened and Harry came out. His clothing was wrinkled, the bags under his bloodshot eyes stood out against his unnaturally pale skin.

"Albus Dumbledore is dead."

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	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter Sixteen**

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The wizarding world mourned the loss of Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore loudly and publicly. Students at Hogwarts cried in the hallways and the great hall. Classes continued as per Albus's wishes, but none of the professors were very energetic. Luckily, not even the worst of the students acted up, perceiving that it would be inappropriate. Even the Halloween Feast went ahead as planned, though no one was in a mood for celebration, and Harry had been to mention his extreme dislike of the holiday.

The _Daily Prophet_ ran a special edition with a ten page biography, dozens of pictures, and a list of Albus's achievements. It announced the time and location of the Dumbledore Memorial, being planned by Minerva and Aberforth Dumbledore, who had arrived the same day his older brother died.

Most of them had been surprised to see that Aberforth was seventy years younger than Albus, the result of a second marriage by their father to a woman who was young enough to be Albus's daughter, an act that apparently caused quite a rift between father and son and resulted in the two brothers never growing close. Aberforth was much younger than Albus's children would have been if they had lived.

Harry was busy writing the members of the International Confederation of Wizards and the Wizengamot. As a member of both organizations, he felt responsible to personally notify each other member. The Wizengamot was already scheduling a time to select the new Chief Mugwump.

The oddest thing to happen was that Harry's father and Remus were somewhat open about their developing relationship, at least around the Order but not the students, and Sirius was often seen with them. It looked like Sirius Black and Severus Snape had come to an understanding of sorts, but Harry didn't have it in him to ask either of them about it.

The memorial for Albus was held two full weeks after his death, giving ample travel time for those all over the world who wished to attend. It was held on the Quidditch pitch, as per Albus's request.

Two stones would be erected in memory of Albus Dumbledore, one at Hogwarts in the Headmaster Plot, and the other on the grounds of the Dumbledore Plot. The first would be the public ceremony, and the second restricted to family only, which at that time meant that Aberforth would be alone with a distant cousin or two and their families.

As Albus Dumbledore's successor and close personal friend, Minerva conducted the memorial. Harry had taken a magic suppressant, which helped him in the crowd. There was not even the slightest hint of attack, and the world was fairly peaceful, so having his abilities dampened a bit was acceptable. The effects of the drug made him a bit paranoid though, and decidedly uneasy, but the alternative was being completely overcome by the emotions and magic of the crowd. Harry just didn't have enough energy to block it all out, and would have had difficulty in a crowd that size regardless.

It was only the second wizarding memorial Harry had attended. He knew many people who died in the war, but he had been either incapacitated or just unable to attend any other memorial aside from Percy's. That had ended in disaster, with a memory of Percy's last hours being projected for the entire gathering to first hear, and then see. On occasion Harry still saw Mrs. Weasley's eyes cloud over, and tears fall, and then she would excuse herself to mourn the son she lost.

That day though, in the cold outside on the grounds of Hogwarts, under a large warming charm, there were no tears, simply due to a request from Albus. Fawkes had disappeared the very moment that Albus's magic had died out like a muggle bulb, with a last bright flash before vanishing forever. Half of it, on the side of his body made useless by the stroke, had already been dimmed and sluggish. The second stroke ended his life.

Fawkes reappeared for the memorial and sang throughout, a light melody that took away the deep sorrow everyone felt. As Carver had told them in the office that day, Albus wanted everyone to be happy. Harry had no doubt that Fawkes would leave again when the day was over. With his unique insight on the mind of a phoenix, Harry knew that Fawkes would be solitary for a time, and go through at least one burning day before potentially finding another wizard or witch to bond with.

The centaurs stood at the forest edge, just within the trees, and Firenze was with them, having been accepted back into the clan after the war. Harry could just see the shadows of the acromantulas and thestrals behind the centaurs. Many other creatures were there, all of them paying a final tribute to Albus Dumbledore.

In the lake, the giant squid was hovering at the surface. The mermaids and mermen had come to the shore and sang their own song of mourning and farewell, a haunting tune when heard with their mouths half out of the water and luckily not the harsh screech that Harry remembered from his fourth year.

Hagrid stood outside his house with Fang at one side and Fluffy at the other. Harry wasn't sure, but he thought he spied Buckbeak at one of the windows. The hippogriff visited Hagrid occasionally and it was possible the half-giant had summoned him to say goodbye to Albus.

Minerva was the main speaker, as the closest living person to the former headmaster. She and Aberforth had spoken with several people, but most had declined giving their own speeches. Snape had no desire to share his emotions with so many people. Hagrid was not accomplished at public speaking. He could barely handle his classes some days. Harry did not want any attention to be taken away from Albus. Filius Flitwick, Pomona Sprout, and Remus were the only ones who agreed.

Unfortunately, Cornelius Fudge had the right to speak, in his capacity as Minister. Internally Harry seethed as the man spoke of his longtime working relationship with Albus Dumbledore. Charlie, sensing Harry's anger even through the potion, kept an arm around him and projected soothing emotions throughout the speech.

Fudge had, again using his privilege as Minister, elected to speak last and close the ceremony. It was during that speech that Harry felt a disturbance, even through his barriers, both natural and potion created.

"Sorry!" Ron's voice rose above Fudge's. "Sorry!"

All heads turned and saw Ron helping Hermione up, her face sweaty and her hand on her abdomen, breathing in steady, regular puffs. Harry snuck a peek at Fudge and saw he was flustered, but not about to berate the Headmistress of Hogwarts Preparatory Academy for going into labor at an inconvenient moment.

Poppy was up from her seat quickly and at Hermione's side, casting her diagnostic charms. The nurse pursed her lips and turned, giving Harry a pointed look. Harry nodded. The whole crowd was starting to stand, cutting off Harry's view. He cursed his lack of height yet again.

Harry turned to Charlie, "Looks like 'Mione tried to ride out the ceremony. Meet us up there?"

Charlie agreed and Harry popped over to Hermione, Ron, and Poppy, ignoring the gasps and assertions that it was impossible to apparate on Hogwarts grounds. He rolled his eyes at Hermione, who glared at him and latched onto his arm. Harry made sure Poppy and Ron were holding on as well, saw that Molly had Benjamin and his little sister Evelyn, and brought his friends and the nurse to the hospital wing.

"Thanks 'Mione," Harry grinned at her. "I was just about ready to hex Fudge."

Hermione rolled her eyes as Poppy helped her onto a bed, "Don't mention it. Glad I could help."

Hogwarts was starting to perk up a bit, and for the first time since Harry had arrived after hearing Albus was ill, Hogwarts was happy. He wondered if the castle liked greeting new life as much as she was pained at seeing death.

Poppy drew a small amount of Hermione's blood from her arm and handed the vial to Harry, "Go see if your father is brewing the potions yet. He'll need this."

Harry gave a quick, short nod and popped down to stand right outside Snape's personal lab. Though he was able to appear directly inside he had promised he never would. The surprise could ruin a delicate potion or cause an explosion.

He knocked and the door swung open, Snape smirking at him, "I've just started. Poppy sent you?"

"Yes," Harry nodded and stepped inside when his father turned his back and headed back towards several cauldrons that were bubbling. He didn't dare touch them. Harry had passed N.E.W.T. Potions, but only barely.

Snape was going from cauldron to cauldron, adding ingredients, stirring, adjusting flames, and when another knock on the door came Harry opened the door. He was surprised to see his godfather standing there.

"Fudge lost his steam," Sirius grinned as he joined them. "There are about three dozen people outside speculating that Hermione is about to give birth to the reincarnation of Albus."

Harry wanted to groan and hide. He had thought Hermione's timing perfect, as he wouldn't have to listen to Fudge anymore, and he could completely skip out on the reception. The stone raising had taken place before the speeches, as there had been every possibility that Fudge would run them into nighttime.

Snape's head snapped up at that comment, "Please tell me you're joking."

"It could only be Sybil and a handful of reporters," Sirius admitted. He looked at the cauldrons carefully, "Do you need a hand?"

"If I did, why in Merlin's name would I ask you?" Snape gave Sirius an incredulous look and Harry stepped back, a bit confused.

Sirius grinned again, "Maybe because I got an 'O' on my Potions N.E.W.T. and was second in class only after you."

Harry looked at his godfather in surprise, and noted that his father felt the same, even if he didn't show it. Neither had known Sirius had any talent with Potions.

"Follow my directions precisely, or I'll stun you and kick you out of my lab," Snape said in his classroom tone, which Sirius jumped to obey.

Harry watched them for a moment before deciding they were safe together and went back up to the hospital wing, where the entire Weasley clan, without the children, were in attendance.

"Harry?" Charlie approached him, wrapping him a hug.

"Hmm?" Harry looked up, still mystified, and saw that nearly all of them were looking at Harry questioningly. He frowned for a second, "Siri is helping Dad in his lab."

Several jaws dropped, and Remus smiled lightly.

"No explosions?"

"No hexes?"

"No yelling?"

"He's just helping?"

"And Snape's _letting_ him?" Fred finished for the twins.

Harry nodded, and prepared for more questions, but a scream from Hermione reminded all the redheads why they were there, to usher a new Weasley into the world.

"The children are all in the Order wing," Charlie told Harry quietly as Weasleys bustled around to bring seats together. The two of them remained leaning against a wall, slightly separated from the rest of the family as they frequently were. The drug was beginning to wear off and Harry's barriers were slowly weakening. "Neville and Luna are watching over them."

"I can't stay much longer," Harry said in a whisper. He squeezed his eyes shut and winced just before Hermione let out another scream. He was starting to feel her contractions. It had been one thing to willingly share the experience with Ginny to make Harry and Charlie even more a part of the birth of their children, but Harry couldn't block Hermione out.

"We can go to our quarters," Charlie kneaded Harry's arms. "Luna can handle our four at least until bedtime."

"Right," Harry answered, wincing again as pain lanced through him, Hermione's pain. In the middle of it all he and Charlie left the hospital wing and went directly to their bedroom.

For the first time since Albus had his initial stroke Harry was feeling alive. The distraction of trying to research the stone had helped, but it had only been a side project, a desperate attempt to keep his mind occupied.

He couldn't help but think that Albus would have been pleased by this turn of events. Albus had told them to be happy, and it was about time Harry listened and tried to do what his mentor told him. There had been too many times that Harry hadn't listened to Albus and the results were disastrous.

Lips crashed together and hands scrambled at clothing. Harry had been detached and too upset for nearly a full week. He had both Charlie and himself naked as quickly as possibly and they fell onto the bed, never once pausing in their kisses and gropes.

"Please Charlie! Please!"

Despite their connection, despite the fact that whatever Harry did to Charlie he would feel as if Charlie was doing it to him, Harry felt a desperate need for Charlie to take him, to fill him. He wanted his muscles to ache the next day, wanted to find it necessary to be careful in his movements so he didn't give away the discomfort.

Charlie kissed him deeply and stretched out above Harry. He lifted Harry's legs and folded them so his knees were up by his chin. Harry was breathing deeply and fast, his breaths synchronized with Charlie's. They stared in each other's eyes and the connection grew. Harry felt like he was looking past the deep blue of Charlie's eyes and directly into his soul, a soul that matched perfectly with his.

His legs pulled in tight and his back arched as Charlie entered him. Charlie's chest fit neatly between Harry's legs and they kissed as though their tongues moving together conveyed the entirety of their depth of feeling.

Charlie moved quickly, feeling Harry's need like his own. His spread his own legs apart to push in deeper and harder. The heat that Harry had taken so long to identify as love intensified until it nearly scorched some intangible part of them.

It was explosive and almost blinding in the flare of their combining magic. Harry screamed himself hoarse as the room plunged into darkness, their surge of magic overloading the magical fires. Harry's tattoo fluttered around his waist and came to rest on his chest.

Their breaths continued to come in short, deep puffs. Harry's arms felt shaky, though he knew that was from Charlie and not him. The redhead gently slid out and Harry sucked in a breath. They curled up, legs entwined. Charlie was on his back and Harry on his side, his head on Charlie's chest. Charlie carded his fingers through Harry's hair, moving them languidly.

First Harry started to shake, and then the tears came. He held Charlie as if he would fade away and Charlie returned the intensity of the hug, knowing Harry needed assurance that Charlie was there and not leaving him anytime soon.

"I miss him," Harry said in a voice that was a bit scratchy, in a whisper.

"I know," Charlie replied, not bothering to offer empty words of comfort. He didn't need to tell Harry that the whole wizarding world would miss Albus Dumbledore. He didn't even need to speak for Harry to know what he would say.

All that was needed between them was the openness that bared their souls to each other.

When they returned to the hospital wing in the morning celebrations were going on. The high spirits were infectious, and Fred pounced on them as soon as they entered, handing them each a cup of firewhiskey to toast the newest Weasley.

Even in their jubilance the Weasleys were mindful of Harry and were careful not to jostle him or force contact. He made it through the crowd and to Hermione's bedside to look down at the wrinkled pink newborn wrapped in a soft pink blanket.

Hermione had shadows under her eyes, her skin glistened with sweat, and a pained smile on her face, but she was glowing. Harry bent down and kissed her cheek, reaching out to touch one of the little hands of his sleeping niece.

"How can she sleep through all this?" Hermione asked them quietly.

Charlie, always at Harry's side, smiled widely and answered plainly, "She's a Weasley."

Harry chuckled, "What's her name, and where is Ron?"

"Perenelle Julia Weasley," Ron answered from behind them with a proud smile on his face. He walked around Charlie and Harry and took his seat on the bed next to his wife and new child. "Nature doesn't ignore new Daddies."

Harry felt a more sedate presence approaching before he saw Minerva. She made her way through the sea of red hair and handed Ron a large bag, "From the staff. Congratulations."

"Thank you Professor," Hermione answered for both of them.

"I've been speaking with the portraits," Minerva said tightly, and Harry marveled at her strength. He had never seen her lose her composure. "Albus sends his congratulations, and his regrets that he could not be here for the occasion."

Hermione shook her head, "What was it he told you Harry, about our loved ones?"

The room quieted, one of those moments when they all knew something important was about to be spoken and they all needed to listened. Harry looked around at his family, seeing even his father standing there, in a corner with Remus and Sirius.

"The dead we loved never truly leave us," Harry repeated the sentiments of the headmaster on that long ago day. Remus had just left Hogwarts after the full moon when Wormtail escaped and Harry saved them all from the dementors. "They live on within us and show themselves when we have need of them."

"To Albus," Snape raised his glass and waved his wand to refill the empties around the room.

None of them thought it inappropriate to be celebrating just after Albus died. They all knew that were the former headmaster still with them he would be the first to remind them of the joys of life instead of dwelling on the loss that all of them felt. They had all mourned, and it was time to live again.

"To Albus," they all echoed and drank.

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	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter Seventeen**

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As expected, the _Daily Prophet_ reported Sirius's return the day after Albus's memorial. After all, he had appeared there in public and made no secret as to who he was. He even spoke with Rita Skeeter that day, at the urging of Harry, who claimed that the woman would treat him fairly. It was a turnabout that Sirius was struggling to understand, but explanations could wait.

The summary of his possessions had arrived from Gringotts that day as well, only hours after the _Prophet_ article. Harry must have been very clear with the goblins about keeping the Black fortune and properties separate from the Potter. The goblins had told him that because his will had been voided he could reclaim any disbursements but Sirius balked at the suggestion. As far as he was concerned the Weasleys deserved every Knut they got.

Even so, Sirius had been astonished at his net worth. He knew the family was wealthy, but he had never known just how wealthy. It had been considered greedy and rude to inquire about his possible inheritance when he was young, and then he had left and not given it a second thought.

Harry had insisted that Sirius come to the meetings of the Wizengamot, and Sirius was glad he did. Not only did he get some perverse pleasure from shocking all those old stuffy busybodies, but he realized early on that Harry's insistence was because Harry needed him there. Harry needed someone there who was close to him, and Sirius was the only one who could.

When that thought entered his mind Sirius felt himself swell with pride and honor. Since he got back he had been sort of floating along, following Harry and Charlie from place to place, but now he was fulfilling his role as godfather and doing something productive as well.

His enjoyment of arguing came in handy too.

"That is just plain ridiculous," Sirius huffed from his seat. It had been over an hour and the Wizengamot still did not have a new leader.

"Seeing as you do not know us..."

"That doesn't matter," Sirius waved the objection away. "The Chief Warlock, frankly, needs more life experience than anyone under fifty could possibly possess, not just fame."

"The position represents the Wizengamot to the whole of Britain, to the Ministry itself, who better..."

Sirius snorted and turned to Harry, who had not spoken a word in over forty minutes, "Harry, what do you think?"

"I am glad someone finally decided to ask my opinion on the matter," Harry's voice was sarcastic and biting and Sirius was reminded of Snape. The difference, of course, was that Snape would not have waited to speak. He would have expressed himself clearly and forcefully much earlier. Several of the witches and wizards around the table flushed. "Even if you all asked me on bended knee to take on the position I would decline. Sirius is right. I have not the experience, the knowledge, nor the temperament to be Chief Warlock."

"Harry," Frances Spinnet, Alicia's grandmother, said kindly, "I think you sell yourself short. You did well on your N.E.W.T.s and have done some impressive work both here and with the Confederation."

"Did I?" Harry lifted his eyebrows at her, and Sirius took in the confused expressions, glad he was not the only one who had no idea where Harry was going. "I never opened my N.E.W.T. scores, and have no idea what I received. As for the work I've done here, ask my professors from Hogwarts if they think I wrote those proposals. I merely presented them. The research required alone would have defeated me. I have some special talents, true, and quite a bit of raw power, but I am no academician, and I am no Albus."

There was silence in the room and Sirius was impressed with his godson. Knowing one's own talents was not unusual, but knowing the limitations on them was rare. Harry stood and looked at each face before speaking again.

"Choose anyone you wish, with the exception of me of course. Each one of you has qualities that would make for an excellent leader," Harry breathed once, deeply and audibly. He turned to Sirius, "I'll see you later."

With that Harry was surrounded by flame that did not burn anything it touched and he disappeared, leaving several of the people at the table shocked. Some of them were left blinking their eyes in disbelief.

"Oh come now, he's Harry Potter," Zephyr scoffed at them all, and Sirius snickered. Zephyr nodded at him approvingly.

Hours later Sirius returned to Potter Manor. He didn't blame Harry for leaving that meeting. Grown men and women had squabbled like children. More than once Sirius wondered what Albus would think of them all, were he looking down on them. He voiced the speculation once and voices had lowered and wands were tucked away... for about fifteen minutes. Of course, if Albus could be watching them, Sirius suspected he had much more interesting things to do.

Sirius knew Harry was getting impatient to return to Romania, and that Charlie and the children shared that desire. As for himself... the dragon preserve had provided a nice holiday, and a chance to refresh his memory, but Sirius was considering staying. As Harry had said, there were many Black properties available to him.

For all Sirius knew, there were dozens of house-elves scattered across the world, keeping these properties inhabitable. The only thing that remained was telling Harry. Part of Sirius worried that Harry would see it as another adult abandoning him, but that was the part of him that still thought of Harry as his teenage godson. Most of Sirius knew that Harry was adult, and besides, any time he wanted to see Sirius he had the ability to just apparate through any wards that divided them.

It was a bit of an epiphany on Sirius's part. He had hated his family, hated them so much that he was thrilled to be burned off the family tapestry, but they had prepared him for what he was about to do. It wasn't his Hogwarts education, or his Auror training, but the childhood as the Heir to Black and the summer lessons on politics and society that would give him the tools he needed now.

Sirius had decided to take his place as the Head of Black, an ancient family fallen to darkness of late, and turn it around. He would reestablish the Black line as a light family and make all those changes in the wizarding world that the Marauders had talked about over firewhiskeys in their room at Hogwarts, back when they were all innocent and optimistic.

"Sirius?" Harry's voice startled him, and he wondered how long he had been standing on the hearth.

Sirius gave him a wide grin, "Nice way to bail on me back there Cub."

Harry snorted and rolled his eyes, "They all know I hardly ever talk in those meetings. Why would anyone think I wanted to be in charge?"

"You're Harry Potter," Sirius said plainly, shrugged, and Harry rolled his eyes again. "The world pretty much assumes that whenever they need you they can call on you and you'll save the day."

"Well, I'll disabuse them of that notion fairly quickly," Harry's eyes darkened just a bit. Sirius noticed that Charlie was just a few steps away, looking at nothing in particular, but poised as if he would have to move suddenly. "I killed Voldemort like the prophecy said I had to, and I helped pick up the pieces after, but I will _not_ step into Albus's shoes. People need to learn to take care of themselves."

Sirius looked at his godson a little more carefully. He had noticed little things while he was living with Harry and Charlie, like the miniscule portions of food Harry ate and the nervous habits. He saw now that Harry was a bit twitchy and he was playing with his hair much more than usual. Sirius exchanged a quick look with Charlie, who shook his head just a bit, his eyes looking strained.

"So who did they pick?" Harry asked with a little interest.

Sirius grinned again, "Zephyr. Someone suggested that maybe everyone already over one hundred should be exempt, so whoever got chosen had enough time to grow into the job."

Harry nodded thoughtfully, "Good choice. He's what, seventy, seventy-five?" Sirius nodded. "He's also muggle-born. That'll make it harder for the old purebloods to buy their way through life."

"It's about time," Charlie scoffed. "Why didn't Albus ever interfere with that?"

"Too fragile a situation at the time," Sirius explained to the surprise of both Harry and Charlie. He might have been in Azkaban at the time, but he was well aware of how the government failed to restructure successfully after the first fall of Voldemort. "Too many purebloods had been implicated by Death Eaters. No one knew who to trust. The only way Dumbledore could have interfered was to go all the way, take over as Minister, and direct the rebuilding, enforcing his own views and beliefs."

"And he never wanted that," Harry finished for him, a little sadly. Charlie stepped towards Harry then and put a hand on his back and Harry gave him a little smile, shaking his head just slightly. "I'm okay."

Charlie looked doubtful, but removed his hand. He turned to Sirius and changed the subject, "So what thoughts did we interrupt?"

"I've decided what to do with myself," Sirius told them.

Harry raised his eyebrows and the whole atmosphere in the rooms seemed to lighten. Sirius wondered if Harry emotions actually affected his surroundings and all the people around him.

"I'm taking my seat on the Wizengamot, and with the International Confederation," Sirius said firmly. "I was groomed to be a politician by my parents. I think it's about time some of the old purebloods represented a more progressive view on our world."

Charlie whistled, "You're going to cause lots of trouble."

Sirius laughed at that, his big barking laugh that always made him think of his animagus form, and it felt wonderful to laugh like that, freer than he had been since Hogwarts. He would have to be careful about changing into Padfoot, and he should probably register too.

"I _am_ a Marauder. I excel at causing trouble," Sirius waggled his eyebrows suggestively. He sat down then, and Harry and Charlie followed. "I figure Remus can keep Grimmauld Place. No matter what changes the Order made there are too many memories there that I would rather just forget altogether."

"There a few empty manor houses from what I gather," Harry suggested, his face completely unreadable. Sirius wondered who taught him that, and guessed it must have been Snape.

Sirius nodded, "That's what I thought from what Gringotts sent me. I signed the house you have your Academy in back over to you." Harry smiled just a little at that. "Do you mind if I stay here while I figure out where to go? I have to figure out elves, and get some clothes for myself. I can't wear Bill's spares forever."

About a million plans were flying through Sirius's head and he felt a little queasy. It had been so easy just out of Hogwarts. He had followed along after James into Auror training, Viviane Potter had found his apartment for him, and then only a few years later he had been in Azkaban. Sirius hadn't been fully independent ever before.

"When do you go back to Romania?" Sirius asked the two younger wizards.

"Soon," Charlie replied, "maybe as early as tomorrow. The Order doesn't really need a leader right now, with no major dark activity going on."

Harry nodded, his eyes down and focused on the ground, "As soon as possible I think. My barriers are all shot to hell. I need some quiet."

Charlie seemed to deflate a little upon hearing that and Sirius wondered yet again if there was more about Harry that was being kept from him. He knew that Harry was strongly Empathic and could see magic, but didn't understand why he had such a hard time blocking those senses.

Any further conversation on the matter was interrupted by a shriek, followed by a loud indignant sounding cry for, "Dad!"

"Definitely tomorrow," Harry gave a little laugh, but Sirius heard no happiness in it.

Once again the Potter family, and their one Weasley, were all packed to go back to the dragon preserve, only this time Sirius was staying behind. Breakfast on that Sunday morning was chaotic, just as it had been only a couple of months ago, but Harry was quieter this time, and it was Charlie who reminded the children that Harry could easily return for anything they left behind.

Sirius then heard a trilling sound, and a quiet roaring, and felt a buzzing in his pocket. All three Order phones in the room were ringing. He took his out of his pocket and saw Harry and Charlie doing the same. Sirius flipped it open and stared at the message on the screen.

_Emergency meeting. Headquarters. Immediately. Wolf._

That was Remus's Order name, for obvious reasons. Sirius heard the roar of fire and feet stepping into the house. Charlie was herding the children into another room while Harry headed towards the great room and the fireplace.

"I'll watch all the children while the three of you go," Hermione Weasley's voice came from the room. "I'd rather not leave Nelle with anyone else just yet."

"Thanks 'Mione," Harry said to her as Sirius entered the room. Hermione had her newborn daughter wrapped in a blanket and cradled in her arms, in the enchanted sleep used when taking babies through the Floo Network. Her other son and daughter were at her side, standing quietly, most likely picking up the gravity of the situation.

Charlie was coming down the stairs, "They're all in the playroom 'Mione. Tawney and Brenna are with them."

Hermione frowned just a bit, but didn't say anything, and Sirius suddenly remembered the campaign for house-elf rights. Had it been derailed, or had Hermione just given up on arguing it with her friends? She just shook her head, "Fine. I'll go on up. Let me know what's going on. I haven't even seen today's _Prophet_ yet, and I know you don't get it here."

Sirius hadn't even noticed that. It had been so long since he received the paper that he didn't notice that Harry and Charlie didn't have a subscription.

"Let's get going then," Harry sighed and gripped Sirius's arm. Though he had traveled with Harry that way a few times it was still strange. It was not really like apparition and certainly not like using a Portkey, but a little disorienting and uncomfortable all the same. Even without the flash of fire it made him feel oddly warm all over.

He was not expecting their destination though, "Not Grimmauld?"

Charlie shook his head, "We haven't used it since this place was adapted. Welcome to Hogwarts Preparatory Academy."

Sirius felt his jaw drop. They were in an office, and there was a portrait of Albus on the wall, which was dozing at the time. When he had been told about the school Sirius figured it was only that, a school. He had no idea that it doubled as a headquarters for the Order.

"Simply brilliant," Sirius marveled. "Whose idea was this?"

Harry smiled again, that small smile that didn't quite reach his eyes, "Mostly Remus I think, and Albus as well, though Draco and I had the final say of course. They collaborated a lot you know, Remus and Albus."

"I guess they did," Sirius said quietly.

The memories were somewhat hazy, but he could recall feeling like Remus was hiding things in the years after Hogwarts, and in their last years at Hogwarts as well. Even when Sirius was on the run Remus had never fully explained what he was doing those years. All Sirius knew now was that he had lived with the Flamels after Hogwarts, and he heard Snape saying something about Joseph, who Sirius only vaguely remembered, having never actually met him.

Harry and Charlie led him up several flights of stairs, and he assumed that they arrived in the office, which had to be Harry's, to give both Harry and Sirius some time to prepare for this.

They entered an attic room, which Sirius saw took up the entire floor plan of the house. It had a large table on one end, smaller tables at the other, and more books than Sirius had ever seen in one place outside of the Hogwarts library.

A good number of people were seated around the large table. Sirius noted that only one of the pair of many couples was present. For the first time that he knew of, a great number of Order members had small children. The three of them took seats across from Remus and Snape, who were with a representation of the Hogwarts faculty. Minerva was not there, as some of them had to stay at Hogwarts while it was in session.

There were a few faces that Sirius had not expected to see, and he knew he would have to talk to them after the meeting. There was Yvonne Diggory and Beatrice Collins, sitting next to a young woman who looked like she could be her daughter, with Draco Malfoy next to her. Tonks was there, sitting with the Weasley twins, and there were many faces Sirius didn't know. Cyclops, at least Sirius thought it was him, was not far from Remus.

"We haven't selected a new Head yet," Remus stood and addressed them a little nervously, "and we probably should before we go into the reason we're all here."

"We all know it's you Remus," Harry said softly. Sirius was surprised that everyone heard him. "Albus left the school with Minerva, and the Order with you."

There were nods all around, and Sirius was proud of his friend. Remus looked a little shocked, but Snape said something under his breath that made Remus smile.

"If that's what you all think...," Remus looked around and waited for any objections. The room was silent, so he forged ahead. "We may have a problem."

"Taking up Albus's habit of understating things?" Tonks snorted and shook her head. There was some scattered chuckling and snickering at her comment. "I think that last night goes beyond 'may'. There is most definitely a problem."

Remus just raised an eyebrow at Sirius's cousin and she flushed. Remus picked up his briefing, "Last night dementors and vampires attacked a muggle village. Luckily, the Aurors are still patrolling muggle areas as some of the Death Eaters remain free. The team on patrol in that area notified the Ministry and Hogwarts, but the dementors and vampires left before the Aurors could arrive. There were five vampires, and four dementors. Twenty muggles are dead, completely drained, and seven had their souls sucked out."

"Fuck," Harry summed up everyone's thoughts neatly.

Snape gave Harry a look, but Sirius saw that Harry didn't notice, his eyes staring at the tabletop. Snape's expression changed to concern and immediately sought out Charlie, who was frowning and nodded ever so slightly to Snape. This silent communication everyone else had around Harry was starting to annoy Sirius. He still required an interpreter and that did not sit well with him.

"As it was still night when I was told I was able to check with Joseph," Remus continued as though Harry hadn't said a word. "No one in his household was aware of what happened. None of them were involved. Vampires in general purposely do not kill to feed. It is unnecessary and attracts unwanted attention. These kills had to be intentional, to make a point. The questions are: what point are they trying to make, who are they, and how did vampires get linked up with dementors?"

"No one ever found out what happened to the dementors after You-Know-Who died," the young woman who was probably Bea's daughter said.

Next to Sirius Harry rolled his eyes and muttered, "He-Whose-Name-Still-Makes-Grown-Men-and-Women-Piss-Their-Pants."

Luckily, only the people on either side of Harry heard, and Charlie and Sirius managed to contain their amusement at the comment.

Amelia Bones was in the room, Sirius noted, "The Aurors have suspected for some time that the dementors were in another country, at whatever place Voldemort," (Sirius noted the flinch from a little less than half the people around the table), "was using for his headquarters before he died. As we discovered that the Fidelius Charm does not end with death, granted that Voldemort himself was the Secret Keeper, finding those headquarters has proven next to impossible. That is a safe assumption, given that he was not prone to trusting his Death Eaters. We have some vague descriptions from captured Death Eaters, but little more than that to go on."

The meeting continued for over two hours. Research tasks were assigned to the staff of the Academy, who turned out to be the research arm of the Order. Volunteers were told to patrol muggle areas to give support to the Aurors and to call in those of the Order who could fight if necessary.

"Sirius," Sirius turned at his name spoken softly. He would recognize Bea's voice anywhere. They had dated in their last year at Hogwarts and their breakup had been heated. Since then they had not exchanged a word. Sirius had regretted the way they parted and he cursed his pride that had kept him from speaking to her whenever he saw her after Hogwarts.

"Bea," Sirius replied with a little dip of his head.

She looked quite different from their days at Hogwarts. Her hair had just a few grey strands, almost unnoticeable, and was pulled back in an elaborate braid. The robes she wore were very proper and clearly of expensive material and tailoring. Her nails were manicured, her cosmetics applied perfectly so that it was almost impossible to tell they were there.

"I think perhaps we should talk Sirius," Bea gave him a small smile, which Sirius returned.

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	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter Eighteen**

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It seemed that no matter what she did, she could never win.

Ginny Weasley, soon to be Sheffield, hated the formal uniform dress robes required of Aurors in political positions. Even more though she hated the current fashions of business clothing that muggle women wore. It was all too tight and revealing. She was always uncomfortable walking through the Ministry, where everyone wore robes, dressed in her muggle suits.

At least she could wear a suit with long pants. She absolutely refused to wear those short tight skirts that left absolutely nothing to the imagination. Ginny never thought that anyone, anywhere, could possibly think of her as prudish. She was certainly far from it where the wizarding world was concerned, but she would never wear things that she even saw young muggle girls wearing, girls under eleven-years-old at that.

Still, the light blue of her slacks and jacket set off her darker blue eyes and flame red hair nicely. She could still wear her formal heeled boots, brown, and a brown blouse that the muggles called a shell. Hermione had helped Ginny shop for the appropriate clothes for her job, and luckily she had not needed to buy much. (Tonks had offered but after hearing from Bill about the shopping trip for Harry Ginny had refused.)

Upon graduating from Auror training, Ginny had not been sent out into the field with a partner as she had expected. Instead Amelia Bones, the Head of Magical Law Enforcement, had called Ginny into her office and offered her a position as liaison to the British Secret Service, known more casually as MI-Six. It was the British muggle equivalent of a cross between the Aurors and the Unspeakables.

Technically she had three bosses with her job, Amelia Bones, Jacob Jordan, the Head of the Department for Muggle Relations, and the Minister himself. Amelia had direct control over her though, as Ginny was an Auror.

Ginny was offered the job for multiple reasons. She had tested high on the intelligence tests that were part of training, she was a veteran of the war against Voldemort and one of the student leaders during the final battle, and interestingly enough her family name was one of the deciding factors. In recent years the name 'Weasley' had been elevated high above its previous status.

Though it would have made more sense to give the job to a muggle-born, there was still some lingering prejudice. Many of those holding high positions in the Ministry believed that if a muggle-born held any of the liaison positions it would try their loyalty, and lead to potential betrayal.

Ginny wondered what they thought of her engagement to her muggle counterpart.

She exited the Ministry through the phone booth and flipped open her Order phone, blessing her father repeatedly for charming the things. Ginny had no idea what spells he had used, only that it was a very complicated process, and that her dad had called upon Remus to create a few spells specifically for the phones.

There was only one ring before the phone was answered, "Ginny?"

"Toby," Ginny smiled, her fiancé's voice lightening her irritation. If it weren't for the job, she never would have met him, and she could put up with the clothing for that. "We've got some business to conduct. Busy?"

"Not right now," Toby sounded distracted, like he was going through his calendar on his computer. "I have a meeting in a little over an hour. Can we finish by then?"

"That shouldn't be a problem. Let them know I'm coming?" Ginny requested.

"Of course. See you soon," Toby was grinning. Ginny could hear it in his voice. "Love you."

"Love you too," Ginny flipped the phone closed, ending the conversation, and tucked it into the inner pocket of her jacket, magically expanded of course.

She stepped into an alley and behind a dumpster so no muggles could hear the 'crack' or see her disappear. It was only about halfway across the city that she needed to travel, and normally she would use the underground or hail a taxi, but she was in a rush. Ginny had only stopped in to see Madame Bones that morning to hear what she could and could not tell the muggles. Toby couldn't have been in his office more than ten minutes when she called.

It had been well over thirty-four hours since Ginny had slept more than a few hours at a stretch. Her job normally meant she kept regular business hours, but she was still an Auror. To stay in form she visited the dueling range at the Auror Academy regularly. Every morning Ginny ran five miles before heading into the Ministry. Her apartment was in Hogsmeade, and it was a common sight to see her running around the lake at Hogwarts.

Before she even managed to get to sleep the night before the call had come for every available Auror to apparate instantly to the sight of another vampire and dementor attack. It was a distress call, and Ginny was honor bound to answer it along with every other Auror not otherwise engaged in an attack, or on duties they could not abandon.

Just like Amelia had told the Order about the first attack, the call had been too late, the Aurors only arriving in time to clean up the mess. One privilege that came with Ginny's post was that she had the authority to call in Obliviators, or call them off if she warranted the muggle in question did not need their memory adjusted. She had stayed on the scene to coordinate the obliviations and to gather as much information as she could to report back to Amelia, and eventually pass on to Toby. She had also called Remus immediately, again, so he could contact Joseph, thankful it wasn't the full moon.

"Good morning Ma'am," one of the guards at the door greeted Ginny. She produced her credentials, which were thoroughly checked, before they allowed her inside.

That brought her to a very short hallway where muggle machines checked both her fingerprints and did a retinal scan before letting her further into the building. Red lights shined above the doors at either end. Toby had told her on her first day that the glass was bullet-proof and airtight and anyone who didn't pass the computer's inspection would be knocked out by a gas and taken for questioning.

As additional security there were cameras covering every square centimeter of the space which were carefully monitored whenever anyone entered or exited the building. The Ministry had long ago warded the building to ensure that no wizards or witches could bypass the security but Ginny was willing to bet Harry could do it.

The only department in the Ministry even approaching that level of security was the Department of Ministries, and six teenagers, fifteen and fourteen years old, had been able to break in with little to no trouble. Of course, there had already been Death Eaters inside and they may have made it all easier for Harry and his friends. Ginny made a mental note to talk to Harry about that.

The far door made a soft sound that signaled it was unlocking and a green light replaced the red. Ginny opened the door and waved to the cameras. She vaguely knew a few of the security people that watched them and it always paid to acknowledge the work that others did.

Ginny easily assessed that the building she was walking through was the plainest, most nondescript building she had ever been in. Even Azkaban had some character, even if it was of the dirty, frightening dungeon variety. Every Auror visited Azkaban at least once during training.

These corridors were plain institutional white. There was not even baseboard or crown moulding to break up the line between floor and ceiling. Doors were evenly spaced, and all were the same. There were no nameplates, or even numbers to tell which door was which.

It was a very easy building to get lost in, even for some of the people who had worked there for months. It was sort of a test, as Ginny saw it. If you couldn't find your way after a given amount of time you were probably sent to a lower post or just fired.

One of the many plain white doors, nothing decorative about it, no panels, just a brass knob, led to a stairway that Ginny took to the next floor up. There were no lifts on the ground floor, or on several of the top floors where the executive offices were. That was simple security again. Then there were other floors where the lifts didn't stop, and to get to them you had to go the floor above and then take the stairs down.

Ginny shook her head as she stepped onto the lift, the only one there. The inside of the lift was mirrored, making it look like there were an infinite number of her riding up to the twelfth floor, luckily the floor where Toby's office was located. Toby was important enough that he had an office rather than a cubicle, and on one of the higher floors. There were only fourteen, and the twelfth was the highest that could be reached by lift.

As she rode upwards several people got on and off the lift, none of them speaking to each other. Sometimes they took the secrecy thing too far in this muggle building. The most she ever saw were discrete exchanges of looks, as if people shared secrets. No one greeted each other in the corridors or on the lifts, as if doing so would breach security somehow. Ginny wondered if they had a cafeteria and how people managed to eat there without talking to each other.

On the upper floors there was more humanity to the building. The walls had wood paneling on the lower half and the upper was a creamy color. The doors were paneled, and stained to match the paneling. The floor had carpet instead fo those odd not-completely-white tiles. There were even plants, though Ginny cringed every time she walked through. Whoever decided on the plants to use had no sense of symbolism in herbology and made the most inappropriate choices.

Toby's office door actually had his name engraved on a brass plate mounted on wood outside his door. She opened it and entered, waving to his secretary, who motioned Ginny through the door. She was expected, and she was engaged to Tony. Ginny hadn't waited in the outer office for over a year now.

"Gin!" Toby came around his desk and hugged her, closing the door to his office and waving to his secretary, who was smirking at his boss. "Not that I don't love early morning visits, but what's going on?"

Ginny sighed and hugged him in return, tightly, then pulled back and sat in the chair opposite his. This office was much better than the hallway. For well over a decade it had housed the agent who was responsible for coordinating the activities of the British Secret Service with the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. The number of wizards and witches who had been in this office over that time had made little comments here and there, effecting a few changes.

The colors in the room were designed to stimulate brain activity. The plants gave the room a calm atmosphere and provided a pleasant scent. The furniture was made of woods which were known to be neutral – none of them wand woods. The room was scanned by muggle means for listening devices and such on a monthly basis, while Ginny gave it quick scan every time she entered for magical influences. If a spell was cast anywhere near Toby's office Ginny knew about it.

She pulled a thick file out of her jacket and Toby grinned, "I love never knowing what you've got in those pockets. Tea? Coffee?"

Ginny couldn't help but smile at this, even if she was exhausted, and shook her head, though the caffeine would be welcome. The last thing she needed was to get dependent on it like Harry. She passed the file across Toby's desk as he sat down.

"You know about the village last night near Brighton and Saturday night up on the Orkneys?" Ginny leaned back and crossed her legs. She couldn't sit like that in one of those stupid muggle skirts.

Toby nodded, his face growing graver and graver as he flipped through the pages. Much of the material he already knew, such as the detailed descriptions of vampires and dementors and their habits. He looked up, "These are the first attacks of this sort?"

"The first that we know about," Ginny replied tiredly. "We're making inquiries across the Channel. Remus checked his contacts, and they don't know anything. I have no doubt they'll be looking into things as well. The last thing they want is the magical community out for their blood."

"Rather than the other way around?" Toby just couldn't help himself, Ginny knew, but it was still a tad tasteless.

"You know they only attack muggles, and they never kill...," Ginny paused, that statement not true anymore. "Well, they haven't killed in a long time. These muggles didn't die just to feed their attackers. This was murder, not hunting."

The muggle community tended not to make such distinctions, Ginny knew, but they didn't live in a world with vampires, dementors, dragons, acromantulas, and other creatures that saw humans as food.

"What about those changes in the laws you told me about, the ones concerning dark creatures?" Toby probed, still looking through the papers Ginny brought him.

She shook her head, "They have no effect on this. All humanoid dark creatures are still subject to the laws concerning any human, including laws against assault and murder. Any dark creature that is not of human form, or capable of magic, such as pixies, grindylows, or acromantulas are still controlled by a separate grouping of laws which were not lifted."

"Okay," Toby nodded and frowned. "Could this be a ploy to ruin the changes Harry is trying make with the laws?"

Ginny thought for a moment and shook her head, "That wouldn't make sense. The vampires at least would know that whatever new laws are put into place could benefit them. Werewolves in particular will assuredly gain privileges."

"You told me about Remus and Severus already," Toby grinned again and Ginny echoed the grin, nodding.

"That's just one example," Ginny told him. "Remus is probably the only werewolf who is gainfully employed. There was a law passed just before my fourth year at Hogwarts that made it nearly impossible for him to get a job. Now he has six Masteries and he's getting offers every day. He's become the poster boy for werewolf rights."

Toby raised his eyebrows, "Back to the attacks. What can my people do?"

"Start carrying wooden stakes," Ginny said dryly, and then flinched slightly. That had come across wrong. Toby was giving her a mild glare. They generally had all the little difficulties worked out that came with a relationship between two such different people, but things popped up now and then. "Sorry, but there's not much you can do. Muggles can't see dementors and vampires are frighteningly fast and strong. Shooting them could slow them down, but won't kill them. We're not even sure if there's a way to kill dementors."

"Weren't they essentially your prison guards for over twenty years?" Toby asked her incredulously.

Ginny rolled her eyes, "One of the worst mistakes the Ministry has ever made. There weren't enough Aurors, or other Law Enforcement personnel due to the war with Grindelwald, so they captured and controlled the dementors. In the process, they never bothered to figure out how to destroy them."

"Sometimes I wonder how your people ever survived," Toby shook his head.

Ginny snorted, "Magic. You've seen some of what we can do Toby, but you have never seen one of our battles. You haven't seen our Healers at work. Anything muggle science can do, we do with magic and more."

"I know," Toby rubbed his face. "It really freaked me out the first time I saw you apparate."

Toby and Ginny had both started their respective jobs about the same time. The Auror that held the position before Ginny had retired, and his muggle counterpart was diagnosed with some disease that forced him to change the work he did. It had fallen to Ginny to introduce Toby to the magical world, and that was how they became first friends, and later more.

"The Aurors have increased their patrols, and the Order is supplementing them," Ginny explained, knowing that Toby still had a bit of difficulty knowing that she worked both in law enforcement and as a member of a semi-legal vigilante organization. It was even stranger to him that Head of Magical Law Enforcement was a member of the group and the Minister was fully aware of it.

"So we're being informed...?"

"Just as a heads-up," Ginny finished for him, knowing he wouldn't like her answer, and knowing there was nothing either of them could do to change it. "Your people can keep an eye out for vampires, though I'm not sure how you'd explain that one. You can tell them if they feel the effects of dementors to report in immediately and then you can contact me and I'll send in the Aurors.

"We don't even have any concrete reason to believe there will be more attacks... except for the fact that there were two already," Ginny concluded with a small frown.

Toby nodded, a bit defeated. At first they had both hoped to further integration, or at least understanding, between the magical and muggle societies such as Ginny was told the Americans were attempting. They quickly came to discover that Britain at least was not ready. There was far too much resistance on both sides, far too many conservatives.

"I'll have to report to my higher-ups on this one," Toby got a thoughtful look on his face, as if already planning exactly what to say to his bosses. It was understood that he knew far more about the wizarding world than they ever would. Part of his job was filtering all the information and deciding what MI-Six, MI-Five, the Prime Minister, and on very rare occasions the Royal Family needed to know.

"I have a meeting about this with Amelia and the Minister today," Ginny felt like groaning. She hated meeting with Fudge, especially when she was short on sleep. Harry may have figured out a way to work with the idiot, but Ginny was still mad at Fudge for everything he had done to her family, Harry included.

Ginny's phone rang then, and she looked down at the number that appeared. It was Amelia Bones calling her, a strange occurrence at any time. She rarely used the Order phones, and absented herself from many meetings due to conflict of interest.

"Yes?" Ginny answered it and held a finger up to Toby.

"We have a problem Ginny," Amelia sounded strained. "I need you here immediately. Use your Portkey and tell Sheffield you'll be back to see him again today."

"Another attack?" Ginny was confused. "But it's daytime."

"Just get here now."

The signal went away and Ginny closed her phone. Amelia was being cryptic, and she only did that when information was _very_ sensitive.

"I have to go," Ginny told Toby with an apologetic look. "Something's happening and I don't know what, but Amelia said I'll be back here later today."

Toby stood, nodded, "Just give me a call. I'll clear time if I have to."

Ginny hugged him, gave him a quick kiss, and activated her emergency Portkey, which took her directly to her office in the Ministry. She grabbed a robe to put on over her suit and darted out and down a few doors to Amelia's office, where her assistant was waiting.

"Madame Bones wants you up at the Minister's office," Jeanette told Ginny.

"Thanks."

Ginny was running again, wondering what the emergency was this time and hoping it wasn't one of Fudge's ridiculous political messes. The last thing they needed just then was some screw up with magical-muggle relations.

There was a small crowd around the outside of Fudge's office and Ginny pushed her way through, flashing her Auror badge as she did, though it was mostly unnecessary. She was well-known, and even if she wasn't her hair identified her as a Weasley, and the only female Weasley of her generation.

Aurors were guarding the door to the office, and wouldn't let Ginny in until they confirmed that Amelia had called for her. Inside the office there were Aurors only, and Cornelius Fudge. Upon seeing the Minister Ginny froze in her tracks.

"Shit."

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	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter Nineteen**

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"And when you cancel out that curse, the underlying spell immediately generates another," Bill was explaining to Remus. Sometimes listening to Remus talk to various others about their specialty was staggering. Severus had taken Arithmancy and Ancient Runes, but his knowledge was nowhere near the depth of Remus's.

"You can't get at the underlying spell without removing the layers first," Remus said as he absentmindedly took a bite of his breakfast.

His eyes darted up and back down quickly, and Severus knew that the post was coming. He knew that Hogwarts communicated with Remus much better than with any other staff member, but if Severus had his way Remus would never know that the castle was circumventing the many howlers that arrived for the werewolf. The letters went directly back to their senders and exploded there.

Bill nodded in agreement, "Exactly. The only thing that has worked so far is removing enough curses so that the remaining one isn't too harsh, then getting hit with it to get at the lower layers before it can recycle."

Remus was chewing with a distant look in his eyes. Bill was at the staff table as a guest, as he was once a year. Remus had him come in and talk to his seventh year students about curse breaking. He had started bringing in a variety of guests that could give his classes firsthand stories and some interesting hands-on experience. They also offered some career advice for the fifth years.

"Have you tried simultaneous casting?" Remus asked Bill, who gave the werewolf a wide-eyed look. "It takes more preparation but you wouldn't have to cycle through all those curses."

"That might be a bit beyond some of us," Bill said slowly as the first owls flew into the great hall.

Remus snorted, "If Peter could cast the Fidelius Charm than anyone can do simultaneous casting. It's not too difficult. It just takes concentration and some adjustment to how we are accustomed to practicing magic."

That was when Remus's ever present scraps of parchment came out and the conversation transformed into drawings and diagrams with snippets of speech. Severus gave up following it, as the Arithmancy Remus was explaining was far beyond anything Severus had ever attempted.

The _Daily Prophet_ had caught wind of the vampire and dementor attacks and there was a large front page article on it. That alone might set off a small panic. The report on the first attack had been bad enough. This one was predicting that wizards and witches would be attacked next. There was also commentary that called to reinstate the harsh restrictions on dark creatures. Harry wasn't going to be able to return to Romania any time soon.

Severus exchanged a glance with George, who nodded. It was time to market the Portable Patronus to the general population. Remus was also planning on moving up his coverage of the Patronus Charm.

More than one paper landed in front of Remus, and Severus saw it was time for the monthly French paper that Remus had delivered. Bill picked up Remus's copy of the _Prophet_ while Remus started on the French paper. Severus would look for some books on learning French later. It was, after all, Remus's first language, if not currently his primary tongue.

The decision was cemented when Remus let off a long string of French that could only be some of the less polite words in the language. Bill's face colored and Severus frowned. He wondered what Remus had read that upset him.

A few students looked up at the table, seventh years that felt the excess of magic being emitted from the angered werewolf. The entire staff was giving Remus curious looks.

Remus closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them he was again the calm and quiet man he normally was, "Excuse me."

He left the hall at a normal pace and Bill immediately snatched up the foreign paper, his eyes scanning the front page quickly and his face paling, "This is not good."

"What?" Severus demanded quietly but insistently. He wanted to know exactly what was happening.

Bill shook his head, "I take it you know that Remus's family abandoned him after he was bitten?"

"Except for his father," Severus clarified, his own irritation growing. His students were not going to have a good day, not that Potions class was ever pleasant.

"It looks like they've changed their opinion, and have publicly acknowledged him," Bill held up the paper. "There's a whole lot of lies in here about them supporting him through his _'difficult childhood'_. I'm not at all surprised at his reaction."

"Nor am I," Severus grit his teeth.

"The interesting thing," Bill mused with a little smile on his face, "is that I know his mother apparently." Severus raised an eyebrow. "Fleur's mother is her second cousin. Suzanne was at our wedding, along with..."

"What?" Severus snapped, wondering why Bill had stopped mid sentence and his face flamed.

Bill shook his head, "No Severus. I have to talk to Remus first. I need to contact Fleur. She might be able to help with this. Excuse me."

The curse breaker was the second to depart from breakfast abruptly, already pulling out his phone and dialing the combination to reach his wife. Severus just growled to himself. He was left with more questions than he started with, and there wasn't enough time to talk to Remus before classes began.

Severus knew that Remus had not attended the wedding in Paris, claiming he did not want to have anything to do with French wizarding society. It was then that he told Severus who his mother was. Harry had made apologies that day for Remus, explaining the werewolf's reasons in vague terms. Severus had made a note of meeting Suzanne Bonacieux and assessing her for himself. She was like many other pureblood socialites he met over the years, not worth his time. Severus had not given it another thought until that day.

He was in a foul mood all day, and it reflected in his teaching. He was harsher than need be, and word spread quickly to be a little more cautious than usual in Potions. Severus's teaching technique had not actually changed much over the years, except that he was equally strict with all Houses. In his opinion, students working with explosive substances needed to be yelled at frequently to avoid accidental maiming.

Remus did not make an appearance at lunch, but neither did Bill. Severus hoped the curse breaker was doing something to help the werewolf. Afternoon classes were more or less a repeat of the morning, with the exception of a spectacular explosion courtesy of the second year's 'Neville Longbottom', as Severus termed each student that came to his class with a propensity for meltdowns. None of them had truly taken Longbottom's place though. That boy's talent in Herbology had only made him more dangerous with Potions, as he always picked out the strongest ingredients.

"Ah, Severus!" the melodic tones of Fleur Weasley echoed across the great hall. "Bill called for me earlier today. Where might I find him?"

Fleur's charms had little effect on Severus luckily, which Severus attributed to his distaste for relations with women. "Good evening Fleur. Your husband will either be down for dinner, or in Remus's office. Did you read the _Parisian Fortune_ this morning?"

The expression on her face, which gave just the slightest hint of a ferocious creature lurking beneath the beautiful surface, answered for her, "Yes, and I had a rather heated conversation with Aunt Suzanne at once. I am most displeased with her father for this turn."

"I believe you will find 'displeased' to be an understatement where Remus is concerned," Severus sneered. "While I did not understand at all what he said this morning at the breakfast table, it made your husband blush."

Fleur's eyebrows lifted then and it almost looked like she would laugh, "Oh? I would like to hear what could do that to Bill. He is the most difficult Weasley to provoke that way."

"Wait here one moment," Severus told her. He peeked inside the great hall quickly and saw that Remus and Bill were not there yet. "Let me escort you to Remus's office."

He held his arm out and Fleur gave him a bright smile before taking it. They passed several students on their way across the castle, and left many teenage boys drooling and staring until they were out of sight. Fleur ignored the attention, though Severus knew she was aware.

There was a loud crash from Remus's office, and the sudden silence that only came with the casting of silencing charms. Fleur flinched just slightly, then set her face in determination. She raised her wand, disabled whatever locking spells Bill had set, and stormed into the office, Severus following her in mild amusement.

"Remus Lupin stop this right now!" Fleur slammed the door behind Severus and crossed her arms, wand still in hand. "You are acting like a child who did not get the sweet he wanted!"

All three men in the office just stared at her, their jaws dropped, and Severus remembered that Remus was not the only one in the room with some magical creature blood. Fleur was one quarter veela and could have inherited more than just the charm from her paternal grandmother.

Severus was not sure exactly what had been going on in the office before they arrived, but Remus had evidently been quite angry. He did tend to bury his feelings, with the possible result of something triggering a long festering anger or depression. In those cases what was expressed came out with years of buildup.

"That is better," Fleur continued to glare at the werewolf, who had quickly composed himself. "Now perhaps you can sit down and we can discuss this like adults cousin."

That single word clearly affected Remus. He blinked at Fleur and then looked around his office. He flicked his wand and a sneak-o-scope repaired itself and returned to his mantle.

"I'm sorry Bill," Remus said in his normal, gentle tone. Bill just smiled and nodded. "My quarters are better suited for this."

Severus caught his eye and gave him a questioning look. Remus nodded and the four of them went through the office door that led to private quarters. After the short scene at breakfast that morning Minerva would understand why neither of them was at dinner.

Fleur greeted Bill with a kiss and hug, "I have left the children with Gabrielle. They will think it a wonderful holiday with how she spoils them."

A house elf brought them all dinner and Remus gestured for Severus to sit next to him on the couch opposite the fire. Bill and Fleur took seats facing each other and they ate in near silence, speaking only of completely harmless topics, the atmosphere much more conducive to digestion than the tension from Remus's office.

"I apologize for my outburst," Remus said when they finished eating. "I can't even remember the last time I did something like that."

Fleur, who was on the other side of Remus from Severus, rested one of her hands atop his, "I for one can fully understand why. You rarely express yourself Remus, and that is just as harmful at constantly giving full reign to every emotion you have."

She had a way of sounding like a scolding mother and Remus looked a little rueful. He shook his head, "Control has always been necessary for me. I think the last time I fully lost it was over twenty years ago."

They all knew what he was referring to, the day after Lily and James died when Albus told Remus what happened. It was common knowledge now in the Order that it had taken Albus, Frank Longbottom, Alastor Moody, and Hagrid all together to subdue Remus. Severus felt Remus's hand next to his and gave it a quick squeeze.

For a brief moment he wondered at their developing relationship. They had not slept apart, with the exception of the full moon, since Albus had fallen ill. At times Severus almost felt like a teenager, discovering the wonder of such closeness to another again. Yet then he felt extreme guilt, like his relationship with Remus meant he was betraying James.

That would have to be resolved, and soon. It was not fair to either of them to leave the shadow of a deceased love clouding their relations. Severus would have to talk to Remus about it, and to James's portrait as well. The portrait was not James himself, but it had his essence, and would know how James would feel on any given subject.

"Aunt Suzanne apologizes for the article, and claims it was her father who initiated the whole thing," Fleur frowned and huffed. "I am not sure I entirely believe her, but that, as they say, is that. I can pass along that she said she would be amicable to meeting with you."

"No," Remus replied firmly, without a thought. "They rejected me long ago. They cannot just claim me because it would be politically appropriate."

"That will not sit well with your grandfather," Fleur said with a little bit of a smirk. "He is entirely too accustomed to getting his own way."

Severus gave his own smirk, "Well, his godson is not Harry Potter. If he makes a public stink about it, I can assure you Harry would come out in support of Remus."

They all smirked then at the thought of Harry making one of his extremely rare public appearances to tell a pompous French wizard to leave Remus alone.

"Regardless," Fleur continued, her tone softening a bit. "Aunt Suzanne and Uncle François are not the reason I am here Remy. How old were you when your parents separated?"

Remus gave her a curious look but answered, "Seven."

"And did your father ever talk about why?" Fleur asked him, her voice just slightly hypnotizing. Severus detected something almost like a Compelling Curse in her voice (a much milder and more legal form of Imperious).

The werewolf shook his head sadly, "Never. It was too upsetting for him. We never even spoke of her. I could smell the pain. He just told me one day that she wasn't coming back and we were moving to England."

Severus grimaced. That was too much for any child, to feel their parent's pain and know it was caused by abandonment of the other parent. Of course, the lycanthropy was a far greater strain, and any child who could withstand that would have been strong.

"I believe I can shed some light on that subject," Fleur sighed and exchanged a quick glance with Bill, who nodded. She took Remus's hand in hers and looked him in the eye, "You have a sister Remus. She is eight years younger than you, and I suspect your mother was pregnant when your parents separated."

Remus stood swiftly and crossed the room. Severus could not stop himself from staring at Fleur, with just a hint of reproach in his eyes. Remus was already struggling with his family problems, and she was adding to them. The werewolf turned then, and his expression was difficult to read. There was a mixture of pain and anger there.

"She didn't just leave us then," Remus said, his usually soft voice taught. "My father took me away to protect her... to protect her from me." If Remus was anything like Severus he desperately wanted to curse the hell out of something. Maybe a duel was in order. They had not dueled just for the hell of it in a long time.

Fleur stood and walked over to him, "I do not know that Remus, but I do know that they never told her about you, and she thinks her father died before she was born."

Severus raised his eyebrows, "Explaining this to her should be interesting then."

"Especially as there is already friction between her and the family. She refuses to be a proper French Lady," Fleur shrugged lightly. "You have all met her of course."

Remus's eyes instantly took on that distant look, as if he was going over every person he had met in the past twenty years to figure out who his sister was. Severus looked to Bill, who mouthed the girl's name, and Severus fought the laugh that threatened. He fully understood why there was friction between her and her family.

"Who?" Remus finally asked.

"My cousin Renee," Fleur answered with a smile. "She works with Charlie and Harry in Romania and came here many years ago when those little dragons were here."

Remus nodded slowly and closed his eyes, "Yes... I was too frantic over Harry's health or I would have known her scent as family."

"Would you like to meet her Remus?" Fleur asked him softly. "I can talk with her and arrange it without the rest of the family getting involved."

"Thank you Fleur," Remus said equally softly, his eyes getting a little bright, "but not just yet. It's all too much. I'd rather things settle down first."

Fleur nodded and said something in French, which Remus responded to in the same language. She kissed him on both cheeks, then smiled at Severus and Bill. Severus quelled the quickly passing urge to curse her. After all, she was his cousin, and already married.

All four Order phones rang then and Severus pulled his out, looking at the display.

_Emergency meeting. Yes, again. Spitfire._

Ginny Weasley was calling this one then. All four of them exchanged confused looks and shook their heads. None of them knew what was happening now. Severus's phone rang again, but his was the only one.

_Please bring some Pepper-Up and testing parchment with you. Thanks. Spitfire._

"We can go through my Floo," Severus offered, "unless you'd all rather walk to the edge of the apparition wards."

The others followed Severus to his office through Remus's Floo. As Deputy Headmaster, Severus had one of two fireplaces in Hogwarts that could be used for travel outside the castle. He was not at all surprised that several other staff members had converged on his office.

Severus held Remus back and made sure all the others left first. He held the other wizard's hand and kept eye contact, "Whatever you choose to do with your family Remus, I will support it."

At that Remus hugged him tightly, and then kissed him firmly. Severus felt his knees begin to weaken and heat travel down his spine, pooling at his groin. He was by then well aware that Remus often expressed his feeling in actions more than words. If they didn't have a meeting to attend Severus would have dragged Remus into his bedroom and followed that kiss up with the steps that naturally progressed from there.

"Damn that redhead," Severus cursed when the kiss ended.

Remus laughed then, a free and open laugh. He gave Severus another soft kiss before leaving for the main Order Floo connection at the Academy. Most of the Order never actually saw the rest of the school.

They immediately headed towards Harry, who was standing in a shadow with Charlie. The majority of those there would not even think of approaching Harry when he was standing apart like that. Everything about Harry's stance and expression said 'stay away.' That did not apply to everyone, but even Severus and Remus would not dare to touch Harry when he was that close to breaking.

Severus noted that Sirius was talking to Ron and Hermione Weasley. It was probably Molly's turn to watch after the young Weasleys during a meeting. Severus scoffed to himself. It was probably about time they set up an Order daycare service. Members could bring their children to meetings and one or two would watch them all.

"Do you know?" Remus asked the two Empathic wizards.

They shook their heads in sync, which said to Severus they were strongly linked just then. Charlie must have been providing the bulk of Harry's shielding. Luckily, it seemed that Ginny had only contacted the Inner Circle. It had to be sensitive information.

"Ginny is anxious and harried," Charlie supplied for them. "I've never felt her like this."

"I should see what this is all about," Remus said, and he gave Severus's hand a quick squeeze before going over to talk to Ginny, who drew him aside and started explaining.

"What's wrong with Remus?" Harry asked, almost too quietly to be heard.

Severus wondered briefly if he should say, but just summed it up, "Family problems. Check the French morning paper, or talk to Bill."

They both nodded and all of them moved to the table when Remus motioned. The werewolf's face had lost any color and Severus wished just slightly for a bit of the Empathy Harry and Charlie shared. It would come in rather useful just then.

"He's worried, and a touch frightened," Harry whispered as they sat, Harry and Charlie sharing a seat which they had widened to create a small couch.

Remus remained standing, "As she was the one to call us all, and is the only one here with firsthand information, I will let Ginny explain to everyone why we are here today."

"Nothing like this has happened in well over five hundred years," Ginny began her briefing. "You may notice that I am the only Auror present. Amelia gave me leave to be here, as every Auror is currently on active call and will be for the foreseeable future."

That alone raised eyebrows. Not since the war had all Aurors been on call around the clock.

"Have there been more attacks?" Alastor Moody questioned.

"Just one," Ginny replied, her face dead serious. "Cornelius Fudge was assassinated this morning."

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	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter Twenty**

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The room burst into noise as everyone, or nearly everyone, tried to talk at once. Harry was gripping the edge of the table, purposely not holding onto Charlie for fear he might hurt him. As it was his knuckles were turning white and he could feel that he had made impressions in the table with each finger.

He could feel Charlie broadcasting calm to the entire room, and Harry was grateful that his bonded was not just focusing on him. It would help him more than anything else if the rest of the people in the room would just reign in their emotions. The outburst of noise had been accompanied by an outburst of emotion.

"Stop it, all of you!" Charlie finally yelled, projecting calm all the while.

The Order was shocked into silence and Remus smiled across the table at Charlie, who just nodded. The rest of the room finally began to calm and Harry loosened his grip.

"Thank you Charlie," Remus looked around the table with a single lifted eyebrow, inquiring if there would be any further disturbances. "Now that you all have that out of your systems, there are several things to discuss. Ginny, have the Aurors any indication of who did this, or how it was done?"

Ginny shook her head, "There were no visible signs of trauma. The body is currently being examined. Severus?"

Harry's father nodded at the redhead. She tossed a vial across the table, which Harry instinctively caught and handed to his father, or at least started to. It was a vial of blood, and it had a remnant of Fudge's magical signature... but... Harry stared at the vial, trying to focus his senses on it and block out the rest of the room.

"What do you see?" Snape asked him quietly.

The room was silent as everyone waited for Harry's answer. He stared at the vial longer, trying to pick out the... wrongness he detected.

"There's just something... off... about his blood," Harry bit his lower lip and worried it between his teeth. "I think it might have been poison."

With that he handed the vial to his father, and he felt better just getting it away from him. Snape took out a small flask and some parchment. He tossed the flask to Ginny, who snatched it out of the air and drank the potion in it, steam shooting out her ears, trickling to just a thin stream as she breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank you Severus," Ginny sighed, and Harry noticed only then that she was wearing her muggle business clothing. She must have had a long day... or perhaps a long weekend.

Harry was more thankful than ever that he had chosen not to go through Auror training.

Snape uncapped the vial of blood and let just one drop fall onto the parchment he brought with him. Harry had only seen him use the parchment once before. It was charmed heavily to reveal the components of any mixture dropped on it and was not something available to the general public. Only very few Potions Masters had both the skill to interpret the findings and the access to a Charms Master to tailor the charms specifically to match the Potions Master using it.

To Harry and everyone else in the room, what appeared on the parchment was gibberish, but to Severus Snape it was ingredients, broken down spells, and whatever else could be used in creating a potion. He frowned as the Order looked on anxiously.

"Alone, any of these ingredients is harmless," Snape said as he continued to frown. "Together though... and over a long enough stretch of time... but it still shouldn't have..." Snape turned the parchment sideways, then upright again, and passed it to Remus. "What do you think?"

Harry was tempted to smirk at the shocked looks around the table. Everyone there knew that Potions Masters were the only ones that could interpret their testing parchment unless the spells specifically allowed another access. Potions Masters had a tendency to be secretive and guard their work carefully, so it was highly unusual for any of them to allow someone else to share their work. That Snape had parchment already spelled for Remus to read was more shocking than the two of them dating.

Remus wasn't paying any attention to the looks the Order was giving both him and Harry's father. He was staring at the parchment, pulling out blank parchment of his own, and making notes before passing the testing parchment back to Snape.

"This is a complicated spell," Remus continued to write as he talked. "It looks like there's an element of mind control involved, to prevent Fudge from speaking about this with anyone."

Gasps sounded around the room. They all had realized by then that Fudge had been poisoned, and Harry's father had said it was a slow poisoning, or at least inferred that it was.

Harry frowned, "How long?"

His father was the one who answered, "It has to have been in his system for at least one full year to have effected these changes to the blood." There was a long pause as the room contemplated that assessment. "Insidious."

"What?" Charlie leaned just slightly across Harry to look at his father-in-law sharply.

"This is not a poison in the way most think," Snape said slowly, as though just coming to this conclusion. His eyes were narrowed and the smallest smile played across his lips, professional appreciation for the poisoner. "Taking the potion in Fudge's blood would not kill anyone."

"Then how...," Hermione interrupted but stopped when Snape held up his hand.

"Ceasing to ingest the potion is what causes death in this case," Snape looked up at them all with a bit of victory in his eyes. Harry knew that he was developing a deep respect for whoever had formed this plot, and he would work all the harder to discover who it was. "It is simple enough to carry out a plot of this kind. Invite the Minister for a dinner, or even tea. Make sure he eats something that has this potion in it, and then inform him that if he ever stops using it, he will die. When the time has come and you wish to rid yourself of him, deny him the potion. The mind control element keeps him from seeking help. Fudge always was a weak minded fool."

"I need to let Amelia know," Ginny massaged her temples. She looked up at the Order then. "So far, only the Auror Department knows what happened. The Ministry in general is aware that Fudge was either taken ill or injured as all his appointments have been cancelled indefinitely. Amelia wants some solid information before announcing this to the public."

There were nods of agreement. Harry shut his eyes and tried to focus. It was getting harder and harder with each passing year to shield himself against all the emotion and magic around him, and no one really knew why. The only thing that helped was the potion that had, oddly enough, been developed to keep prisoners in line by blocking off their access to their magic. Taking it made his head feel like it was stuffed full of cotton though, and no one knew the long term effects yet.

Fudge's death was going to cause major problems. The wizarding world was only barely recovering from Voldemort, and with the loss of Dumbledore... and then the Minister... it was the perfect time for some ambitious dark wizard or witch to make a move and start the cycle all over again.

"Please tell me Amelia doesn't have all the Aurors after whoever got to Fudge?" Harry opened his eyes and interrupted whatever conversation was going on.

Ginny started and shook her head, "There are still patrols, because of the dementors and the vampires, but the majority of us are trying to find out what happened and how someone got past Fudge's security."

"That's a mistake," Harry said plainly, ignoring the piercing look from Remus, and confused looks from half the room.

Alastor snorted, "He's right... again." Moody winked at Harry with his good eye. "Let me guess, you're think this is all tied together somehow, and it's just the beginning of someone's bid for power."

Harry nodded, and tried to keep the fear that was building from affecting him, "In both of Voldemort's rises to power there were disappearances. He started off slow. Grindelwald capitalized on the chaos erupting in the muggle world, and even helped it along. We need to watch very carefully and see who tries to take Fudge's place."

"You think...," Dedalus Diggle chuckled nervously, "there's a new dark lord?"

"Why is the Order still together?" Harry asked shrewdly, staring at Diggle. "After Voldemort was defeated the first time, the Order disbanded. Why did we stay together this time?"

Harry was met with a blank look.

"We need to be able to keep our eyes out for rising darkness and stop anyone trying to be the next dark lord or dark lady before they gain a foothold in our world," Harry's father said sharply. "That is the purpose of this Order. That is why we still meet, why we are still active. If we had remained together after the first war, many things may have been different."

Harry felt a hand grasp his arm and squeeze. Even after all these years his father still apologized now and then for not regaining his memories earlier, for having Harry's mother obliviate him in the first place, and more generally for not being there when Harry had needed him as a child. Each time Harry told him to stop apologizing, that what was done was done and they had managed to find each other eventually.

"Bloody hell," Ron said in a low tone.

Snickers broke the tension in the room. It was so characteristically _Ron_ that everyone couldn't help but laugh. Harry thought he was probably the only one who caught the mischievous little smirk Ron sent his way. He shook his head. His friends were _still_ looking out for him, and it was reassuring in a way. Something flashed then in Ron's eyes, and Harry knew they would have to talk soon. The others frequently forgot that Ron had been trained as an Occlumens, that he had been attacked by those brains that left him with visions of every possible future. What did Ron know about what was happening now?

"There's no point in making contingency plans, as we don't know what's happening yet," Remus said authoritatively. "I want everyone to keep their eyes and ears open. Siri... see if you can track down Dung and find out what he knows. I'm sure he sold his phone years ago." Sirius nodded and grinned. Harry knew his godfather was overly glad to actually be given an assignment. "After that I want you and Alastor patrolling. You worked well together before. Severus, you and I should probably talk to Amelia with Ginny in case she has any questions on our findings."

Like Albus, he ended the evening without parting remarks. Everyone knew what they had to do, and they would do it. That was all. Everyone stood and the fireplace flared bright green as members began leaving. Harry remained seated, looking around the room.

The Inner Circle was fairly small, especially with the Aurors absent. There were all the Weasley members, Harry, Snape, Remus, and Sirius, Alastor and Diggle and a few others. The Malfoys and Diggorys were not Inner Circle. Andromeda Tonks was not, and even a few Hogwarts staff members were not. Cyclops was not a member, and had in fact declined when he was invited.

Harry almost wished he had been there that night. He couldn't help but feel that everything that was happening had to be connected... except for probably Dumbledore's death. Albus had always, in Harry's opinion anyway, had absolutely abysmal timing. All those times Harry was near death Albus had only barely managed to save the day, but Harry believed that the headmaster could have come maybe five minutes earlier each time and saved Harry a whole lot of grief.

It was even possible that Sirius's return was linked in some abstract way. The universe was full of balances. What if the reason it took Snape so long to figure what he said was a rather simple ritual to bring Sirius back, was because Sirius's return had to coincide with darkness... light in exchange for dark. Lily and James Potter died and Voldemort was a shade for thirteen years. Voldemort died, and Harry's magic, seemingly boundless before, was crippled. Now Dumbledore was dead, Sirius was back, Fudge was dead, and... and what...?

"What is it Harry?" Charlie's hand brushed through his hair. His voice was low and calm, soothing.

Harry leaned into the touch, and realized they were alone. He had no idea how long he had been sitting and thinking, "I'm not sure. There's something..." Harry let out a sigh of frustration. "It's just out of reach Charlie. I don't believe in coincidences."

Charlie pulled him closer and hugged him, "Don't get worked up over it. Whatever it is will come with time."

Leaning into the hug, Harry breathed deeply, focusing on their bond, "What if we don't have time?"

He felt the shrug, and knew what Charlie was thinking. Neither of them put much stock in divination. They didn't think it was possible to purposefully delve into future events and discover what will happen. The only way to find out what the future would bring was to live each day until that future arrived. 'What if' would only serve to increase anxiety.

"Hey," Charlie said and Harry knew he was grinning. "Mum has the kids still."

"And Sirius is out Dung hunting," Harry finished for him.

Their lips met and all the worries and questions melted away. Harry lifted Charlie's shirt off and Charlie loosened Harry's trousers. Hands found their way to Harry's tattoo and into his boxers. They pressed against each other and Harry lowered his mouth to latch onto one of Charlie's nipples.

"Oh!" the squeak came from across the room. Harry ignored it, fully absorbed in his actions. "I... I didn't know... I mean... well... um... sorry!"

There was a 'crack' as someone disapparated. It was not the first time an Order member had walked in on Harry and Charlie... at Grimmauld Place, the Academy, the Burrow, Hogwarts... the two of them just had a tendency to get carried away.

"I think... we should... find some place... more... private," Charlie gasped out, their hands and mouths not stopping even for an instant.

They still did not stop as flames surrounded them and carried them to the master bedroom at Potter Manor. Harry moved his mouth to cover Charlie's and moaned as Charlie's fingers teased him. His hands unoccupied, Harry busied them in removing the rest of their clothing. Once that was accomplished he lowered Charlie to the floor.

"The bed's right there," Charlie grinned up at him.

Harry glared at the piece of furniture, only ten feet away, "Too far."

Neither of them slept much that night. There were no children there to potentially burst in their room after a nightmare, and no Sirius to watch over.

Charlie nudged Harry awake in the late morning, having let Harry sleep in as late as he could. They had already sent Hedwig to Romania the day before telling them there was trouble in England and they would be delayed, but they didn't know for how long.

Harry grumbled and tried to pull the blankets over his head to block out the light pouring in through the uncovered windows. It was decidedly cruel of Charlie to pull back the drapes and let the sun in.

"Wake up Harry," Charlie said plainly, having done this every morning for many years now.

Harry groaned, "Too early." He tried to pull Charlie back into bed, but did not put much effort into it and had no success.

"There's coffee waiting," Charlie whispered in his ear and licked his earlobe.

Harry squirmed. He knew he would get up soon. Once Charlie was determined to get him out of bed it was a losing battle for Harry. He could defeat a dark lord but he couldn't convince his own bondmate to let him sleep for another five minutes.

"Fine," Harry grumped and slithered out of the bed, blearily searching for something to wear, "Meany."

"I love you too," Charlie kissed his cheek and handed him some clothes.

Harry struggled into the jeans and button down shirt – buttons in the morning were yet another cruel trick – and followed Charlie down to a sitting room, where breakfast was waiting courtesy of the elves. A coffee mug was pressed into his hands and Charlie didn't bother attempting conversation until Harry was caffeinated and coherent.

"Mum owled," Charlie told him. "She'll Floo over with the kids after breakfast."

Harry nodded, "And she'll bring the _Prophet_ with her no doubt."

Charlie nodded. He had never had a subscription to the _Daily Prophet_, as he got enough news, and more accurate news, from his family and the Order. Harry had canceled his subscription while he was still at Hogwarts, disgusted with the obvious bias of the writers. Stories were available to the highest bidder.

Harry ate slowly, conscious of Charlie's eyes taking in the amount of food he ate. It was one of those things that Harry didn't really like, but he understood. He had a tendency to stop eating when he was upset, and to not eat enough in the first place. Charlie worried about him, and Harry was not about to start yet another argument that he had no chance of winning.

The Floo flared in another room, but the two people that came through were not any of the people they were expecting that early.

"That ungrateful little scum!"

"Calm down Black!"

"Shove it Mad-Eye!"

"It was your own fault!"

Harry raised his eyebrows at Charlie, who was moments away from laughter. Sirius was stomping up the stairs towards his room, Alastor Moody following him, and they were arguing loudly enough for the sound to carry through the entire Manor.

"Should we offer them breakfast?" Harry asked Charlie, not bothering to conceal his own amusement. Charlie would have known anyway.

"I don't see why not, even if it is lunchtime," Charlie looked at the table for a moment, and it instantly began filling up again. House-elves had a tendency to eavesdrop, so as to better serve their masters, "but no caffeine for either of them."

Harry nodded in agreement and spoke at a normal level, "Brenna, invite Sirius and Alastor to join us, and tell them both to stop yelling."

The house-elf popped into the room, "Yes Master Harry," and popped back out.

Charlie reclined on a sofa, and Harry joined him, facing the door as Sirius and Alastor entered with mildly sheepish expressions.

"Is Dung the scum?" Harry questioned his godfather.

"You heard?" Sirius replied and Alastor rolled his eyes.

If nothing else, the message from the house-elf was enough to tell them Harry had heard them. He couldn't figure out the emotions he was receiving from them though. His question had somehow made them sad. He pushed the thoughts aside. Empathy made it tempting to pry, but Harry refused to. Instead, he looked at the sheepish grin his godfather was displaying.

Harry felt the corners of his mouth lift up, betraying his attempts at control, "Try using your indoor voice Sirius... when you're indoors. Yes, of course we heard you."

Sirius flushed at the rebuke that he had heard directed at the Potter children all too often when they got too excited and started yelling and screaming in the house.

"I take it you two had an interesting night?" Charlie's chest shook a little behind Harry in laughter.

Alastor snorted, "You could say that."

The Floo flared again and Harry sighed, "Your story will have to wait. Molly's here with the kids."

All four children raced into the room and straight to their fathers, latching onto them with fierce hugs.

"When are we going home?" Randy pouted up at them.

"We are home," Harry teased his son, ruffling his hair.

"Our other home!" Randy was not in a mood for teasing. "I want to go to Romania!"

Harry and Charlie exchanged a glance. They had talked about it the night before. Charlie would be going back and forth between England and Romania, and the others would all stay at the Manor. There was too much going on, and too many unknowns. Harry still had a great many enemies out there, Death Eaters that had never been captured. Not all of them had been identified, and so they had no idea how many of them there were.

"I'm afraid you won't be going back for some time Ra," Harry said softly, pulling his son onto his lap. "We're not sure how long."

Randy pouted and struggled free. He landed on the ground and crossed his arms, "It's not fair!"

Charlie raised his eyebrows, "Randy you are staying at Potter Manor as long as that is the safest place for you."

Tears sprouted in the little boys eyes and his siblings all looked on uncomfortably. Of all of them, Randy was the most emotional.

"You never care what we want!" Randy yelled at his fathers. Harry took a deep breath and closed his eyes. The four-year-old had no idea how strongly he was projecting.

Charlie put a hand on Harry's arm, and Harry felt the attempt to help him block out their son's tantrum.

Luckily for both of them Molly Weasley was still there, "Randolph Harold Potter, how dare you speak to your fathers like that! Go to your room!"

The boy flashed his anger her way, sniffled, and turned back to Harry and Charlie. For a moment Harry felt horrified realization. Randy's Empathy was growing stronger, and he needed to learn how it affected others. Kat burst into tears then and ran out of the room, and Randy followed her.

"Mum?" Charlie spoke in a strained voice. "Please?"

"Of course dear," she nodded and leaned down to Carver and Erica. "You two run off to the playroom. If you're hungry call Tawney." The two older children obeyed immediately, most likely not wanting to stick around for the aftermath of their little siblings' behavior. "I'll go find the twins."

Molly left the room and Charlie started casting wards. Harry could taste just a little of that coppery twang of blood and knew he had bitten his lip a little too hard.

"He's getting too strong Charlie," Harry said, struggling with his barriers. "We need to teach him some control before it's too late."

"Harry?"

Harry looked up at his godfather and cringed slightly. Sirius and Alastor had witnessed the whole thing. Alastor had retreated to sit at the table, out of the way, but Sirius was frozen, standing where he had entered the room.

"Randy and Kat are definitely Empathic," Harry explained, with a quick shared glance with Charlie. "The problem is we don't know what else they've inherited."

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	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter Twenty-One**

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"I'm going with you Black."

Alastor's gruff voice interrupted Sirius as he was watching Harry with concern. Harry didn't even seem to notice that the meeting had ended. He was just sitting there and staring at nothing, while Charlie watched with an unreadable expression.

"He does that sometimes," Alastor told him quietly with a bit of understanding in his voice. "He's just thinking about something, or trying to block everything out. Charlie's here. Harry will be fine."

Sirius looked at the retired Auror, his former trainer and something like a mentor, "This happens a lot?"

"Come with me Black," Moody grabbed his arm and dragged him towards the fireplace, most of the Order already gone. They went through to the Leaky Cauldron where Alastor signaled Tom, the barkeeper, and pulled Sirius towards a room in the back. "How much have they told you?"

"They told me what happened, the summer after I fell, and that Harry is Empathic and can see magic, and that a dragon adopted him, and when he killed Voldemort he burned out some of his magic and destroyed his shields, and bonding with Charlie is the only reason he's sane," Sirius let out in one rush. No matter how long he had to deal with this it would never be enough. He should have been around to protect Harry from at least some of what had happened.

Alastor snorted, "You know pretty much everything then, and more than most do. Only a handful of people still alive know _how_ Harry killed Voldemort and I'm not one of them. I _do _know that Harry has more trouble with keeping himself shielded than he'll ever admit. We all try to keep from getting angry around him, or feeling any strong emotion actually. You never know what will send him over."

"Send him over?" Sirius asked, fearing the response.

"Our biggest fear Sirius," Alastor looked him in the eye, his magical eye fixed on Sirius, "is that it will all get to be too much for that kid and he'll shut himself away. Albus and Severus lied to him, and told him that a Secret Keeper can't live on the property being protected."

"Otherwise he could make sure no one could ever find him," Sirius nodded along.

Alastor gave him a steady look, "Are you as rash and foolish as you were eight years ago?"

Sirius flinched, "You're still blunt Alastor. I don't think I am, but who really knows? I'd like to think I've learned something from all the messes I've caused."

"Not all your fault, boy," Alastor thumped his back. "Now, I came with you because of that idiot Fletcher." Sirius raised his eyebrows. "Back in Harry's sixth year I caught Mundungus stealing from Grimmauld Place, stuff Remus wouldn't miss."

"Like the Black Family silver," Sirius snorted, growing angry with the man who had actually been a better companion than most while he was trapped in his mother's house.

"Aye," Alastor answered. "Harry had far too many problems of his own, and Remus was focused on Harry and whatever else Albus had him doing." Sirius nodded there, seeing where this was going. "I took Fletcher to Albus and we both reamed him for stealing from Remus and the Order and he was put on probation. Albus took away his Order phone and assigned me to watch over the fool and act as his contact."

"So you know where he is?" Sirius asked.

Alastor nodded, "I've kept tabs on him. He'll not be happy to see you, especially with me there. He'll know I've told you what he did. Use it."

Sirius mulled it over in his mind. Truthfully he had no attachment whatsoever to most of the things in his mother's house. He supposed the family tree should remain somewhere, so long as he didn't have to see it. He would have to start a new one sometime. The rest though... if it had still belonged to him Sirius would have let Dung cart off whatever he wanted. But Dung had stolen from Remus, and that was inexcusable.

"Yeah," Sirius said, considering how to play things out. "I can see how he won't be pleased I'm back."

There was a smirk on the twisted face of the former Auror, and it suited the face covered in scars well. Alastor was a man who wore his scars like badges of honor, even though it was possible to get rid of them.

"Let's go then," Alastor led him out the door and towards Diagon Alley. Sirius had his hood up, hiding his face, hopefully keeping him from being recognized. "He's down Knockturn these days. Last I heard he was in pretty bad shape."

"When wasn't he?" Sirius snorted at the thought. He had no idea how Dung had ended up leaded the life he did. The man hadn't been so bad in school from what Sirius had been told, and could have easily gotten a simple job somewhere, but maybe working just wasn't for him.

Alastor shook his head and pulled up his own hood. The cloak he wore swirled around him, full length to hide the peg leg, but nothing would hide the limp. Luckily, Alastor was not the only wizard who limped, and very few people would expect to see him in Knockturn Alley. His legendary paranoia would be assumed to keep him out.

In truth, Alastor was far less paranoid than he let on. He had always told Sirius, when Sirius was a young Auror under Alastor's charge, to emphasize the traits others assigned to you. It made them think you were predictable and gave you an advantage.

"Hey Boss," Sirius said, slipping into old habits. He heard Alastor grunt in return, and possibly even chuckle a bit. "If no one knew where all the dementors were, who's guarding Azkaban?"

"I always thought you were smart, even if you did your best to disprove it," Alastor did chuckle then, leading Sirius deeper and deeper into the poorly lit, dark area of wizarding society. "Azkaban is very different from what you remember boy. The prisoners are kept drugged on Raivannin, and there are Aurors and other human guards."

"Raivannin?" Sirius questioned. He'd never heard of it before, but if it was invented in the past twenty years that was no surprise.

"It's a new drug, developed by a Potions Master who likes muggle fiction a bit too much," Alastor snorted. "Most of his potions don't work, but this one did. It's named after a drug in books written by some woman named Bradley. It cuts off a wizard's access to magic, makes 'em a squib essentially."

Sirius felt his jaw drop open. That was almost as bad as dementors. His magic had always been there. Wizards and witches relied on their magic, lived by it... without it... he shivered at the thought.

They walked past the area that was crowded with the petty criminal element of wizarding society. They headed down a street that looked as though no one had walked there since before Sirius was born. There was rubble in the street and no sound of life.

"Harsh, I know," Alastor agreed with Sirius, "but it's much better than relying on those foul creatures. Here we are."

Sirius looked up and down the building. It was a brick townhouse and might have once been a nice place to live, but now it was a dilapidated eyesore. Shutters hung off the windows at precarious angles, looking like they might drop on passersby at any moment. There were bricks missing, broken windows, and the chimney had crumbled and was mostly gone.

The door opened easily and Alastor turned to Sirius, "A Bubble Head Charm would not go amiss here with the stench of the place, but it would be too out of place. Watch your footing. It's like the trick steps at Hogwarts, only these will just break under you and drop you down a few flights."

"Lead the way," Sirius nodded and prepared himself. The smell hit him and the bit of his animagus form that was always there whimpered. He could smell human waste, blood... death.

They went up several flights of stairs to the fifth floor of the building. From peeks in the doors they passed, several of them just sitting open, or missing altogether, he saw that the place was abandoned... except for Dung it seemed.

"Who 'er ye?" Dung's voice rose in drunken accusation as they walked across the landing on the fifth floor, the half rotted wood creaking under their boots. Sirius noted the stabilizing and repair charms that Alastor was discreetly casting as they went.

"Dung!" Sirius said in a bright cheerful voice, no doubt shocking Alastor. "What are you doing in this hell hole?"

The room they entered was disgusting and filthy, as was Dung. There were empty liquor bottles scattered around the room and Sirius immediately saw they were muggle labels. In a flash Sirius knew what Dung's life had degraded to. The man snuck in and out of muggle London, using magic to steal alcohol from muggles, probably begging in Knockturn Alley.

"Stay away," Dung was panicking, backing up against a wall. "Yer just me min' playin' tricks." He scrambled around for a bottle and drank the cheap muggle wine like it was water and he was dehydrated.

"Dung," Alastor flung back his hood and Dung cringed. "Black never died. He was just trapped somewhere, and Severus got him back." Alastor kneeled down then, keeping some distance between them and Sirius watched on in fascinated horror. "Albus is dead Dung. His memorial was just last week."

Dung was shaking his head back and forth, "No... no... dead comin' back... and Albus dyin'... 's no' righ'... 's no' righ'..."

His words were slurred by the alcohol and Alastor looked up at Sirius and shook his head. He wondered at the relationship here. Albus had assigned Alastor as Dung's contact, but had he also assigned him to watch after the man, to make sure he didn't somehow kill himself.

"Mundungus Fletcher!" Alastor snapped, struggling to stand up. He started banishing bottles, starting with the full ones. "Albus Dumbledore trusted you and cared about you. Thanks to him, I have been to only thing standing between you and the dementors!" Alastor winked at Sirius. Clearly Dung had no idea what was going on in the world outside him.

How did the Order not know about this? Sirius shook his head. They clearly were not going to learn anything from Mundungus Fletcher. Alastor pulled a bag out of his cloak and produced a large flask that smelled of coffee and quite a bit of food. He put it down and Dung took a tentative sniff before sipping at it.

"There's a touch of firewhiskey in the coffee," Alastor whispered to Sirius. "He'd never drink it otherwise."

"What happened to him?" Sirius asked, still fascinated, the way people were as they read the obituaries in the paper every morning.

"It eventually got around down here that he was helping the Order," Alastor explained to him sadly. "No one would deal with him anymore. He's too soiled for respectable folk, in name and appearance. He couldn't get a job anywhere without help, not that he'd accept it.

"Dung would rather just crawl inside a bottle and die, wouldn't you?" Alastor said loudly. Dung grunted and mumbled something unintelligible. "Albus never gave up on anyone though, so I come down here every month or so, take away the booze, make sure he eats, and give him the offer to clean up. If Harry knew he'd help, but Albus made me swear not to tell Remus or Harry, Severus too once that all came out."

Sirius was nodding. It was sad really. In a way, Dung was a victim of the war just as much as those wizards and witches who had been killed in battle or in raids. His death was just taking a lot longer. He had become too disreputable even for Knockturn Alley, and that was hard to do.

"This is your last chance Dung," Alastor snapped at the man who was picking at the food and eating bits here and there. "Come with me and we'll give you a bath, clean clothes, and find you work and a decent place to live. Rosemerta would hire you on Harry's word alone."

"Lea' me 'lone Mad-Eye," Dung mumbled, swishing his wand in their direction, though no curses were shot their way.

Sirius decided that one more try was needed at least, "You stole from Remus Dung." The filthy face moved and bloodshot eyes made contact with Sirius. "For that I will never forgive you, but I'm still willing to help. I know what it's like to live off rats in filth. I remember the dementors."

The bloodshot eyes blinked, as if actually thinking over the offer, then looked down again, "Go 'way."

Sirius shrugged and Alastor sighed. They turned and left the room, and heard the sobbing as they started down the stairs. At the bottom they stopped and Alastor turned to Sirius with a hard look.

"Not a word of this to anyone Black," Alastor said harshly. "I thought maybe if anyone could snap him out of it you could, and you almost did. We had him for a moment there. No one hears of this though. As far as the Order is considered Dung went his own way after the war and he's doing black market business somewhere along here. Got it?"

"Yeah Alastor," Sirius gave another look up the stairs. He understood now why Alastor had asked about him still being rash and impetuous. The old Sirius Black might have just Portkeyed Dung to Mungo's, or cursed him for stealing from Remus.

They left the building and started back towards Diagon Alley, hoods in place again. They passed the hags and thieves, all of them somehow higher on the evolutionary chain than Dung, who had managed to find a place below the dregs of society.

"He's my cousin you know," Alastor said in a tired tone.

Sirius was startled. He didn't know much at all about Alastor's family, thinking that most of them had been killed off by Death Eaters while Sirius was still in Hogwarts. He shook his head, "I didn't know. What will you do?"

"Next month I'll try again," Alastor said in his usual gruff voice. "C'mon Black, we've got investigating to do."

Sirius was brought along to all of Alastor's contacts and he felt like he was a rookie Auror again, with Alastor teaching him what they didn't teach in Auror training. They didn't learn much of anything. Alastor had a list of ingredients from Snape that were difficult to obtain and were used in the potion.

Whoever had killed Fudge had to know that the potion would be discovered eventually, so they wouldn't have gotten these ingredients through any legal channels. Alastor was checking the black market, and Sirius was smart enough to keep his mouth shut the whole time.

They ended the night with little more information than they started with, concerning the assassination anyway. It was difficult to ask questions when you couldn't give any information about what you wanted to know and why.

"Breakfast?" Alastor asked Sirius questioningly.

He shrugged. Harry and Charlie probably expected him back at the Manor sometime, but they had no idea when and Sirius was an adult, "Sure."

"Read this then," Alastor handed Sirius a piece of parchment, yellowed with age, that he saw was in Remus's handwriting, giving the location of Alastor's home.

"Remus is your Secret Keeper?" Sirius asked in surprise. He knew now that one of the reasons Lily and James had been hesitant to use Remus was because of the lycanthropy. They didn't know if he'd be able to keep the secret when he didn't even know who he was.

"Aye, has been since your seventh year," Alastor smirked then, a full smirk, like he had gotten Sirius with a good prank. "He created the charm and it was tested here."

Sirius shook his head again. It made sense in a way. Remus had always been extremely good at keeping secrets, so good that no one knew there were any secrets he was keeping. None of them had even known that Remus knew Alastor that well.

"Sometimes I wonder if I ever really knew Remus," Sirius voiced his biggest fear concerning his only remaining friend.

Alastor's smirk disappeared and he looked at Sirius in pity, "Come on then."

They apparated to Alastor's cottage and Alastor had breakfast cooking with just a few flicks of his wand.

"You do know him Sirius," Alastor said firmly. "You know the part of him that he hid from the most. I'm sure you know more of him than any of the rest of us do, barring maybe Snape now."

He shivered, "Now that I was not ready for. I don't think I ever would be."

"We all saw it coming years ago," Alastor waved his unease away and flicked his wand again to flip the bacon. "They were survivors together. If you and the others of your years were still around, who knows? They balance each other though."

Sirius felt his forehead wrinkle up as he thought about it. Maybe Alastor was right. Sirius had actually found himself forgetting about all the problems he had with Snape back when they were kids and warming up to the slimy... well maybe not entirely forgetting. Snape was like an entirely different person than the one he knew though. He still snapped and made absolutely vicious remarks, but they were more... witty and amusing... than cruel and vindictive.

He had promised himself that he wouldn't mess things up this time. He had been given a third chance at life, and knew he wouldn't get another. If Sirius had been less of a hothead when he was twenty maybe James would have trusted him then and told him about Snape. Maybe he wouldn't have chased after Peter... and using dark magic to do it too. If he had been less of an idiot when he was in his thirties he might have listened to Albus.

No, he wouldn't dare get on Snape's bad side again. Doing so risked losing everything. At this stage, Snape could probably take both Harry and Remus away from Sirius, and they were all he had now. Remus actually seemed happy with him... and his hair wasn't really slimy anymore.

"Yeah, maybe they do," Sirius said thoughtfully as food was put in front of him.

Just to make Alastor proud Sirius checked his food before eating it, and even discovered a curse. He glared at Alastor, who was smirking widely as he dug into his own breakfast. Sirius removed the curse and started eating.

He saw Alastor open his mouth and repeated along with him, "Constant Vigilance!"

"You were my favorite student you know," Alastor admitted. "I could never figure out where I went wrong with you... and then Remus was having trouble." Alastor sighed. "I should have tried to answer all those questions I had Sirius. I might have saved a lot of people a lot of heartache."

"We all could have done things differently Alastor," Sirius offered his old teacher. The man grunted and nodded and they continued to eat amicably. Alastor started filling him in on the less crucial things he had missed over the years, including all the new products the Weasley twins had come out with.

The post came then, and as if by speaking of them invoked their interest, there was post from the Weasley brothers for Sirius. He shook his head, thinking of their latest joke items, as he opened the envelope, completely missing the shield that Alastor instantly cast. There was a flash of light and Sirius managed to swear loudly before whatever the curse was took effect.

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	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter Twenty-Two**

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It took several days for the _Daily Prophet_ to get hold of the story that Cornelius Fudge was dead by assassination and the Aurors were clueless as to the culprit. The issue that announced those facts to the world contained a long biography of the deceased Minister and announced the plans for the memorial that the Ministry had planned and ready to go for when the news broke.

What affected the Order more than that mess, as it was Ministry trouble that they didn't need to be involved in, was the article speculating who would take the reigns of government. Of course, they had one article that called for Harry to step up and take his 'rightful place' leading the wizarding world.

A letter had immediately been sent off to the _Prophet_ and published the next day. In it Harry refused to take on the position of Minister of Magic should the wizarding world offer it. He declared that he was not adequately qualified for the position and had no desire to become so. The opinion pieces that followed that were harsh, calling Harry selfish and spoiled. Those sparked responses defending him and a long argument via letters to the editor.

Harry had been shaken just by the Minister's death, even before the public debate concerning his sanity amongst other things, which Sirius did not understand until Snape explained it to him.

"Harry had some measure of control over Fudge," Snape told Sirius harshly one night when they were all at the Manor for dinner. He had pulled Sirius aside after a few comments on how it was really a good thing that Fudge was gone. "He was easily manipulated, easily frightened by the potential political power in Harry's hands. We have no idea who will replace Fudge, and that person might get it in their head to screw with Harry's life."

Sirius had nodded, understanding, in some way glad to see Snape so furious and protective of Harry. Everywhere he turned lately there were people protecting Harry. It looked like a whole side mission of the Order was to protect Harry, from himself and outside forces, even with Voldemort gone.

He hadn't seen Harry since that morning when the article came out though. Charlie had gone to Romania for a couple of days. The kids were with Molly, Randy still in a bit of a snit. He had begged to go to Romania with Charlie but been firmly denied.

Sirius checked the entire house and the grounds as well. He examined the lake, the rope used to swing out over the water and drop in, and found no sign of Harry. The house-elves claimed they did not know where he was. By the time lunch had come and gone Sirius was getting nervous and had no idea what to do.

It rankled him that he had to go to Snape for help, but Sirius didn't know who else to ask. He couldn't go to Molly, as he might worry the children. He couldn't interrupt Charlie down in Romania.

Sirius steeled himself and took out his Order phone. He opened it and typed out a note.

_Harry AWOL since this morning. At Hogwarts? Padfoot._

Snape might have been in class, but then Sirius realized it was Saturday... no class then. There might have been a quidditch game, or detention, or Hogsmeade weekend, or any number of things to prevent Snape getting the message and responding right away. Sirius paced for over an hour before his phone finally barked at him.

_Come to Hogwarts if he's not back yet. Staff room – staff meeting. Password: Chocoballs. If he's back let me know. Serpent._

He snorted. It must have pained Snape to write out that password, which had to be in tribute to Albus and his candy fetish. He felt just a little better knowing that someone else was aware of the problem and doing something about it, though what they could do from Hogwarts Sirius didn't know. He would still go.

Outside Potter Manor, far away from the house itself where the wards ended, Sirius apparated to the edge of the wards surrounding Hogwarts and Hogsmeade. He was glad someone had explained that change to him or he would have splinched himself trying to apparate to Hogsmeade.

Hogwarts was a long walk from there. Sirius envied Snape, who could Floo from Potter Manor to his own cottage to his office at Hogwarts, and Harry who could just bypass any wards.

He knew where the staff lounge was of course – what Marauder didn't? Third floor, behind the painting of the battle between Merlin and Morganna (not to be confused with Morgainne) but Sirius hesitated. It was like crossing some invisible line between the irresponsible and the responsible, the mischief maker and discipliner.

"Chocoballs," Sirius said clearly, determinedly.

Morganna gave him a cool look from the painting, "He's not a professor. I don't like the look of him."

"He is an adult, and he has the password Morganna," Merlin rested on his staff and peered down at Sirius. "That gives him the right to enter."

"We should consult the Headmistress first," Morganna persisted.

Sirius rolled his eyes. Many guardian paintings had a tendency to take their jobs too seriously sometimes. He would admit, though, that he _had_ cut to shreds one of their number years ago. Sirius guessed he should apologize to the Fat Lady sometime. He had always liked her.

"Look," he interrupted their bickering and used his flirting smile, "Snape gave me the password. He's expecting me."

"Oh!" Morganna looked surprised and flushed a bit.

Merlin smiled benevolently at him, "In that case young man..."

The portrait opened and let him into the staff meeting. The Hogwarts staff room was clearly much larger than it needed to be. The staff was all seated around a large table at the opposite end of the room, with the exception of Snape who was standing and addressing them all. None of them appeared to notice Sirius entering the room.

"The wizarding world is more of mess now than it was after Voldemort rose again. Then, at least, we had a purpose. We needed to survive. Now we are lost, without a strong leader. Dumbledore is gone, and Harry refuses to step into that place, and rightly so. He would go mad within a fortnight with that kind of pressure on him, that much hope resting on his shoulders again. Fudge was assassinated and the Aurors cannot discover who did it. The enemy you do not know is much more frightening than the one you can see," Snape said firmly, as if reiterating a point spoken many times.

Minerva glanced over to the portrait and nodded to Sirius, causing several others to take note of his presence there. Remus smiled and gave him a little wave, and George Weasley grinned.

"There will be no more talk of encouraging Harry to take over as Minister," Minerva said decisively and sternly. "Any post to him from this staff will see my desk first. The agenda for this meeting has been fully covered. I will see you all at dinner."

She stood and left the room, stopping to give Sirius a quick hug and kiss on the cheek on her way out, "It is good to have you back with us Sirius."

He smiled at her but walked towards the table where Snape, Remus, and George lingered, talking amongst themselves. The rest of the staff did not look at all worried, and Sirius guessed they had no idea why he was there. Whatever was wrong was being kept in the family.

"Sit down Padfoot," Remus smiled at him, and Sirius saw the smile didn't reach his eyes. "Have some tea. I bet you haven't eaten much today."

"You know me too well Moony," Sirius sat and helped himself to tea and some biscuits. When they were at Hogwarts it was almost impossible to come between Sirius and food, but since Azkaban his appetite had diminished greatly. Now he, like Harry, had a tendency to forget to eat when he was worried.

"When was the last time you saw Harry?" Snape asked calmly.

Sirius swallowed, "Last night. We played cards until late."

Snape rolled his eyes but the looks he exchanged with Remus and George were significant, "Charlie should be there by now."

"Why am I here?" Sirius was confused and very unhappy about that. Things just kept coming up and everyone knew more than he did.

"Sirius," George took over the explanation, though Snape looked decidedly displeased. They had probably discussed what to tell him and there was some disagreement. George turned to Snape, "He's Harry's godfather, no matter how old Harry is. He has a right to know."

"Harry should be the one to tell him, or Charlie if Harry can't," Snape insisted, jaw tight.

Remus moved a hand under the table, and Sirius didn't want to know where it went, "Charlie's a little busy for that right now Severus."

"Fine," Snape snapped, irritated, "but if Harry is upset that we told him I hold no responsibility."

It was George's turn to roll his eyes and he continued, "You know Harry is a phoenix." Sirius nodded. "Where do phoenixes come from?" Sirius shook his head and held up his hands. He had no idea. "Until several years ago none of us had any idea either."

"It's our belief that every phoenix was once a wizard," Remus told him and Sirius felt his eyes go wide. "You know well the danger for an animagus to stay in their form for too long." Sirius grimaced. It was a danger he knew all too well. He probably still had some characteristics that were very doglike. Transforming was risky for him now after spending many years more often a dog than a human. "You also know that you gain some of the abilities of your animagus form while in human form."

Remus leaned forward, "When things get too much for Harry, when he starts to lose control, he retreats into his phoenix form. Ever since he killed Voldemort he's had difficulty holding his shields together and though he won't say it we think it's getting worse. It was bad enough he had to be drugged to attend Albus's memorial."

"He did seem... off," Sirius commented, everything falling into place. The worse Harry got, the more likely it was he would transform, and the longer he stayed a phoenix, the more likely that state would become permanent. And then they would lose Harry forever.

Part of Sirius said, fuck it, if Harry hurt too much to stay human then let him be a phoenix. But there were four children in the equation and Sirius _had_ seen Harry enjoying his time with his children and Charlie. He had lost enough time with his godson that he didn't want to lose any more, and he could see that Snape felt the same way, and Remus as well, but was it right of them to allow their personal wishes to keep Harry in a state where he suffered?

"It's not as bad for him as you think Sirius," George said quietly, suddenly at Sirius's side. Sirius jumped in his chair. He hadn't heard the twin move. "These past few months have been really tough. First we get you back, then all that business with the Wizengamot and the Confederation. We lost Albus, and Fudge died, and the _Prophet_ is going back and forth between begging Harry to take charge and vilifying him again. Frankly, we've all been waiting for this to happen."

"I'm amazed he held out as long as he did," Snape said in a ghostly tone, like he was holding back some deep emotion. "It is rare that this happens now. He's gone over a year before without needing to transform."

"So what do we do?" Sirius was still frustrated but it was different now.

"We wait," Remus leaned back with a cup of tea in his hands. "Charlie is with him. Molly has the kids. In a few days Harry will be able to change back."

That was right... Charlie was an animagus... a hawk. He must have learned the transformation so he could change when Harry did and keep him company, or at least keep an eye on him.

"So you summoned me here so Charlie could find Harry without any interference on my part," Sirius concluded with a shake of his head.

"Sorry Padfoot," Remus sounded extremely guilty and Sirius thought back to the Code. He hadn't thought of the Code in over a dozen years. Marauders have no secrets. That was a poorly written rule, he now acknowledged. Sometimes secrets were necessary, unavoidable.

"I think maybe we should amend the Code," Sirius gave Remus a wry smile. "After all," his eyes darted to Snape, "there are things about your life I certainly don't want the details on."

George instantly started laughing, slapping his leg as he bent over, while Remus flushed and Snape looked both very uncomfortable and irritated.

"Secrets and full disclosure differ greatly," Remus recovered slightly and pointed out.

Sirius could practically feel the glint in his eyes. He grinned, like he was a Marauder again, "I know that Moony. Once a Marauder..."

Remus snickered and looked quickly at Snape, who was starting to scowl, "... always a Marauder."

"I should have left you behind that veil," Snape grumbled with a glare sent Sirius's way.

He ignored it though. He had learned in the past several weeks that it was just Snape's way, and the glares and sneers and cutting remarks were how he related to everyone. Though Sirius hoped things were different between Snape and Remus in private, and that they had been between Snape and James.

"So do I stay here or something?" Sirius asked, trusting that Charlie had things in hand... or wing... or whatever.

"Merlin forbid," Snape rolled his eyes upwards. "You in this school and unoccupied is asking for disaster."

Sirius shrugged, "Probably. I haven't been bored in... years I guess. I have no idea what I'd do."

George's eyes actually lit up at the prospect of seeing one of the legendary Marauders in action. Remus readily admitted that without James and Sirius around to goad him on he would never have pulled even one of the pranks he came up with in their years at Hogwarts.

"No," Snape said sharply, glaring at George.

"What?" George defended himself, trying to pull off the innocent look that only Remus had perfected. "I was just thinking that Fred, Sirius, and I ought to get together sometime. We could always use some fresh ideas."

"Do you know what happened to the journal?" Sirius asked Remus eagerly.

Remus's eyes flashed towards George quickly and back to Sirius, and gave him a hard look. He sighed, "I have it, with my school things."

"Where?" Sirius lit up at the prospect of going over their old mischief. He could only really remember a few good ones, not nearly half of what they did.

"My father's house," Remus told him, that hard look still there.

That of course prompted Snape to glare and Sirius backed down immediately, though it was because of Remus, not Snape. "Don't think about it then. I'm sure I can dredge up the memories. I have time after all."

Remus's eyes softened and he frowned, "You can go there if you want Sirius. I'll tell you where everything is."

"You don't have to Remus... I know...," Sirius hated making Remus remember these things.

George was just watching them all in fascination. As much as he knew about Harry and the past ten or so years that Sirius had missed, he was most likely completely unaware of events that took place before he was born.

"I wouldn't have offered Sirius, if I didn't want you to," Remus said in the tone he used to stop Sirius and James from being foolish and getting them all caught, or to get Peter and Sirius to do their homework.

"What's the journal?" George had to ask.

"The Marauder Journal," Remus answered for them, "the record of every stunt we pulled here as students, complete with photographs, potions directions, charms, everything you would need to recreate every one of our pranks."

Snape swore under his breath and George looked almost hungry, "That would be dangerous in the wrong hands."

"Like yours?" Snape questioned sharply.

George held his hands up, "Hey! I'd only use it for financial gain... with permission of course."

Both Remus and Sirius laughed lightly at that and Sirius nodded, "I'll show it to you and Fred sometime soon."

Snape stood then, and his voice was full of sarcasm, "I hate to break up this Marauding session, but I'm going to check on Harry and Charlie. I'll be back for my classes tomorrow."

Remus and George nodded and Sirius jumped up to follow Snape out. Snape turned once they were out the door and raised an eyebrow at him. Sirius grinned, "We're headed to the same place, unless you _are_ inviting me to visit the castle for a bit."

Snape snorted, "Very well, follow me."

Sirius did, careful to keep his mouth under control. Watching Snape yell at students who were only _potentially_ up to mischief was definitely amusing. They made it to his office and Snape offered the jar of Floo powder, "First Highlands Cottage, then Potter Manor. I expect that my cottage will never be the victim of any of your childish attempts at humor, and you will not visit there without my express permission."

"Fine, I agree," Sirius rolled his eyes and went after Snape through the Floo system, pausing only briefly in the cottage to get his bearings before subjecting himself to spinning away towards the Manor.

He found Snape at the top of one of the towers, standing in the biting wind with omnioculars in hand. The cold didn't look like it affected him at all as it whipped his robes and cloak around his body. Sirius cast a warming charm on his own clothes before joining him.

"There," Snape pointed out towards the woods and handed over the omnioculars.

He put them up to his eyes but didn't see what Snape had pointed out.

"Look for the red," Snape suggested.

"There's no...," Sirius started, but then he caught some movement and he could make out the brilliant red of Harry's feathers. He increased the magnification and saw that Charlie was with him.

He let out a sigh, "Thank you Severus."

Snape looked at him peculiarly. Sirius had never used the man's first name before. It was always 'Snape', 'Snivellous', or something derived from one of those two. If Harry and Draco Malfoy could grow up and work together though, Sirius figured that he and Snape could manage it. There was only one thing left hanging between them, and Sirius figured it was his job to clear it away.

"I never meant for you to get hurt you know," Sirius handed back the omnioculars and saw a jaw muscle twitch, but no other sign of emotion. Harry's talents would come in handy just then. He looked away and back at the trees. "I was sick of you following us around and spying on us all the time, and I thought I'd give you a good scare."

Sirius laughed bitterly, "Some things went wrong that night you know. Remus's door was always heavily warded and password protected. You never should have been able to open it. I thought you would have waited until later too, and James, Peter, and I would all have been out there already.

"Some things went right though. James found out what I did and locked me and Peter in our room then went tearing out to stop you. If he hadn't..." Sirius swallowed. He had learned a lot from that night, but he hadn't really taken those lessons to heart for a long time. "I would have deserved Azkaban, and all I would have gotten from the Ministry would be a slap on the wrist. Albus would have expelled me, but my parents would have sent me to Durmstrang, and probably been proud of me to boot. Remus is the one who would have gotten Azkaban, or even the executioner's block.

"But I'm sorry Severus," Sirius turned and looked at him again, so the man could see how sincere he was. "I should have apologized years ago without James and Remus forcing me to."

Sirius had never seen Snape's eyes that bright, or seen that much of a struggle on the man's face. Snape mastered his emotions quickly and tilted his head just slightly, "I accept your apology Bl... Sirius."

Snape left then, before Sirius could say anything else, and Sirius let him go without following. From what he knew of Snape, the man needed his space then and would not welcome Sirius's company. When he did go inside and down the stairs to let the elves know he was ready for dinner he saw the door to the portrait room closed and he couldn't hear anything from inside.

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	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter Twenty-Three**

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Black's apology truly threw Severus. Despite the professions from James, Remus, and Harry that Black had changed since his school days Severus had not actually believed it. He was biding his time, waiting for evidence of the supposed changes, and watching his back whenever the mutt was in the general vicinity.

Severus knew that Harry had made them both agree not to start anything, so he gave Black a certain degree of trust, enough to work together anyway when it was necessary. He was not about to trust Black further though... until that apology.

The first time Black had ever apologized him had been in the great hall in front of the entire student body and staff towards the beginning of their sixth year. It had been obvious at the time that Black didn't fully mean the words he said, vague as they were, and that the other Marauders had forced him to do it. The rest of the Slytherins had thought it was all some joke.

Up on the roof, in the cold wind, Sirius Black had been more humble than Severus had ever seen him. He had been contrite and Severus could see deep regret, not just for what might have happened to Black and Remus, but for what could have happened to Severus himself that night.

He had spent hours talking to James and Lily that night, first about Black... and then Remus. Severus couldn't remember how that subject had come about, but it had been a conversation that had to happen sometime. He looked down at his hand, where the wedding ring had rested since it was recovered from the Potter Vault. James had told him to take it off.

_"Our bond was a wonderful thing Sev, but I'm dead, and I'm not coming back," James had said with a sad little smile. "You should have at least sixty good years ahead of you. Don't spend them trying to relive the past."_

His hand tense and shaking just slightly, Severus slid the ring off his finger. He was sitting on the side of his bed, and Remus was asleep behind him. It was a beautiful ring, a wide band of pure gold with delicate filigree. He closed his eyes tightly and took a deep breath. He stood and crossed the room to his bookshelf, reaching to the very top to bring down a wooden box with the initials J.A.P. in fine gold inlay.

He whispered the words, "Harold James Potter," to open the box.

His son's name brought up thoughts of the past two weeks. Harry had spent five days as a phoenix, his longest stretch to date. Charlie had transformed more than once to reassure all concerned that Harry would change back soon.

The short list for candidates, nominated by at least five hundred signatures, magically sealed for authenticity, was published in the _Daily Prophet_, and though everyone was sure that Harry had been nominated, his name was thankfully not on the list. There were five candidates, three of them Order members.

Arthur Weasley had been shocked to see his name there, though Amos Diggory and Amelia Bones were not. Diggory had risen through the ranks in the past several years, focusing on work after his son died. The other two nominated had been publicly neutral in the war, but Severus suspected that at least one of them had been a supporter of Voldemort, if not actually a Death Eater. None of the candidates had potential to be a dark lord though, but some ambitious dark wizard could be the power behind one of them.

The Department Heads and Wizengamut had been meeting, those nominated excluded from the process, to select the new Minister. The name would be announced any day now, and Black had told them all he expected it to be public on the first of December, just little more than half a month after the Minister's death.

Severus looked back to the bed and saw Remus turn in his sleep. He looked down at the ring resting on the palm of his hand and lifted the lid off the box.

There was still a small envelope inside and Severus placed the ring carefully inside, back where it had sat for all the years that Severus had not known of his bond with James Potter. He replaced the lid and put the box back on the top shelf of the bookcase, and returned to the bed.

Remus was awake then, and sitting up. He looked at Severus with that almost unnerving look of his that made Severus feel like he could hide nothing. Even without his enhanced senses Remus was highly perceptive. He didn't say anything as Severus got into bed, but took the hand that had worn the ring and kissed the bare finger.

Severus closed his eyes and felt the mattress move as Remus shifted. A hand touched his face, stroking the cheek gently, but there was no more. He opened his eyes and saw that Remus's face was very close to his, but Remus was not going to move. He was letting Severus make the decision, letting Severus choose how far this relationship would go.

Had he meant it when he told Remus he wanted everything? To say that to Remus, to a werewolf, was almost as committing as a bonding. He could see it in Remus's eyes. James had always seen Remus in the wolf's eyes. Severus could see the wolf in Remus's eyes.

When he was fifteen Severus had read everything on werewolves he could get his hands on. He had been frightened out of his senses, so he armed himself with information. Most of he read had been superstition and supposition. He knew that much of it was wrong.

What he did figure out, what came in useful now, was that while the man and wolf were divided, many characteristics of the wolf were shown in the man. Severus had also read about wolves. He knew that wolves were pack animals, and that wolves mated for life.

The wolf inside Remus looked out through his eyes and saw Severus as his mate, of that he was certain. He had seen it that first night, in the intensity of those amber eyes, and maybe that was why, while they slept in the same bed, kissed, and touched each other intimately, they had not had sex again.

"Remus," Severus said softly, searching those hazel eyes for the amber gold flecks, for the depth from the wolf. Never had he thought his reading would prove useful in this manner. It was almost enough to make him laugh.

The hand that had been holding his face moved down to ghost over his shoulder and rest on his hip, just barely sitting inside the loose cotton trousers he slept in. Severus leaned in for a soft kiss, and another... and then another, and then the kiss deepened. They moved slowly, tenderly, touching each other gently.

Severus shifted to lie on his back and pulled Remus down with him. Remus held Severus's eyes with his and raised the now bare hand to his mouth. One by one Remus took each finger in his mouth, licking and sucking. Severus felt his pulse quickening and his arousal growing.

The amber flecks were there in the hazel eyes and growing brighter, eclipsing the mixture of brown and green. They flashed when Severus lifted his hips and pressed against Remus. The feel of another man against him, and not a hurried, rushed encounter in a hotel room, was something Severus had thought he would never experience again.

It had only been a little over a month since this had started, but Severus knew that when he had said he wanted 'everything', he had meant that word. He wanted to forever wake up and find Remus was in bed with him. He wanted to fall asleep with the warmth of the werewolf next to him every night for the rest of his life.

"Severus," Remus was biting his lower lip, rubbing his body against Severus.

Neither of them were young anymore. They didn't have the embarrassment of a teenager not being able to contain himself, not having control over his body.

"Make me yours," Severus brushed back the sandy hair mixed liberally with grey, knowing that beneath the complicated charm there was no sandy color left.

Remus was breathing heavily, a mixture of arousal and sudden fear and hope, "Do you know what you're saying?"

Severus just nodded and brought their lips together again. It was tentative once more, but Remus gradually grew bolder, more aggressive. He left Severus's lips and began kissing and licking every bit of exposed skin, his hands removing the last remnants of clothing that they wore, tasting all of Severus.

Sheets and blankets were all bunched down at the foot of the bed as Remus moved lower and lower. He nuzzled the patch of hair between Severus's legs and Severus felt a shiver go up his spine. He raised his head to watch and Remus grinned up at him, his eyes brighter amber than Severus had ever seen.

The deep pink tongue that came out of Remus's mouth licked the length of Severus's erection, briefly taking the tip in his mouth before abandoning that area altogether and lightly kissing the inside of his thigh.

It was there that Remus that paused and looked up at Severus again. Rather than the eyes flashing amber, Severus saw a hint of the green-brown of hazel eyes. He was not sure exactly what the wolf was looking for, or how he needed to finalize that Severus was his mate, but he nodded permission anyway.

The pain was only brief. The two slightly sharper canines than would normally be found bit Severus's inner thigh, breaking the skin. He gasped and clenched his jaw, not willing to show he felt any pain. Teeth were followed by tongue, licking at the wound.

Remus paused and Severus looked down again, only to see Remus bite his own tongue and continue to lick, their blood mingling.

There were many times in his life when Severus had felt strong magic moving around him, though almost exclusively when he was in the company of Harry, Albus, or his former master Riddle.

And here he felt the magic, but it was like nothing else he could describe. It was completely unlike the bonding ceremony between him and James, yet that was the only thing Severus could bring to mind to compare it to.

Before long Remus finished and stretched back to his full length to lie atop Severus. They kissed, but Severus tasted nothing of the blood that he had seen just moments before. Their mouths stayed pressed firmly together as Severus felt Remus's hand gently but firmly spreading his legs apart. He complied eagerly, his arousal if anything heightened throughout the claiming.

"I...," Remus's eyes were still almost entirely amber and glowing, but clouded with confusion.

"Shh," Severus lightly traced the outline of Remus's face with one hand, the other reaching for his wand. He brought Remus back down for another kiss after casting the spell to prepare himself.

Severus put his wand back on the nightstand and reached down to join his hand with Remus's. Together they guided Remus into place and very slowly joined. Severus moved his hips up off the bed, and back down, up again to meet Remus, who picked up his rhythm and started to thrust.

The pace quickened, the force increased. A questing hand found Severus's erection and grasped it, causing him to moan into the mouth of his now mate. The moan only served to encourage Remus, who tightened his hold and thrust with sharper movements.

Both screamed together, their mouths moving to the side. It was Severus's turn to bit down, this time on Remus's shoulder, to muffle the sounds of his screaming, but he broke no skin and drew no blood. Remus nearly howled as he spilled into Severus.

The stickiness between them would easily be cleaned with a simple spell, but neither man had the energy to first locate a wand and then cast the spell. So they left the end results of their activity to dry and harden on their stomachs and form a crust that would be much more difficult to remove.

None of that seemed important to them as Remus moved to the side just enough that his weight would not crush Severus. He kept one arm and one leg wrapped around the other man, his head on the pillow beside him and nuzzled into Severus's long neck.

"Mine," Remus said in a lazy whisper, gripping just a bit tighter for a moment.

Severus smiled at Remus, a smile that would shock nearly anyone who had sat in his potions classroom while he scowled, sneered, and snapped at his students. His smiles were private, only for a select few people to see, though that few had grown as they began having children. It was for family only.

"And you are mine," Severus said to assure Remus that he knew what had happened and wanted it.

This was new, and Severus decided that he enjoyed it, and would continue to enjoy. His relationship with James had always been with the understanding that Lily was there as well. Now he had someone all to himself. He could feel that Remus was going to be possessive... and the mere thought of anyone trying to interfere in what they had infuriated Severus.

For over an hour they lay there in silence, holding and relaxing, just enjoying the presence of the other. Words were unnecessary, as both were fully aware of what had passed between them. They gradually fell asleep, into the most peaceful sleep either of them had experienced for too many years to count.

When he woke, the first thing that struck Severus was that he no longer recognized the room he was in. He blinked and sat up, not really noticing that in doing so he disturbed Remus and woke him as well.

"Hmm?" Remus's sleep blurred voice attempted his first communication of the morning. "What... why is my wardrobe here?" There was a long pause and Severus saw that it was still his quarters... just altered... as if his and Remus's quarters had been merged. It gave a warm little feeling. Never had he actually had a home with someone else before. "Oh."

"Yes?" Severus prompted. He accepted that his quarters had changed, but wasn't really sure how it had happened.

"Hogwarts," Remus elaborated with a small smile. "She, um, knows what we did and decided that we were married staff members, thus the shared quarters. Everything I have in the castle should be here now, barring some furniture. This is your bed, for example. I expect there are doors to both our offices as well."

Severus just nodded. He had grown accustomed to this change in the castle, even if it still unnerved him slightly. He had no idea if his Occlumency walls had any effect on what the castle was able to know about him, or if it could successfully communicate what it knew to anyone else. The possible vulnerability grated on all his paranoia developed during his days first as a spy, then a former Death Eater suspected by both sides before becoming a spy again, and then as perhaps the second or third person on Voldemort's 'to kill' list.

One of their first tasks of the morning was to inspect their new living quarters. The rooms had been enlarged to accommodate extra bookshelves, many of those, a few more chairs, and Remus's wardrobe. In general, the remaining furniture was what Severus had put in his rooms when his memories returned, brought from the Snape vaults.

He turned a hesitant look to the werewolf, although perhaps he should no longer be referring to him like that..., "Remus..."

"Don't say another word Severus," Remus's voice was the same as always, quiet and soft, yet impossible to misunderstand a single word, with his lips quirked in a tiny almost unnoticeable smile. "All my furniture here was provided by Hogwarts. Nick and Ellie sold pretty much everything before they died, so the only properties I own are Grimmauld Place and my father's cottage, and I didn't want anything from either house here."

Severus just smirked and did as Remus told him... he didn't say another word.

Remus rolled his eyes and left Severus standing in the sitting room. Severus watched him walk away, back into the bedroom ostensibly headed for the bathroom and a shower.

He had one more room to check though, that they had assumed the castle hadn't changed at all. What was once Harry's room was larger than it had been when Harry was still a student. The large single bed and decoration that mimicked the Gryffindor bedrooms was gone, replaced with four smaller beds and neutral decorations in bright colors for Severus's four grandchildren to visit.

Severus left the room to gather his own clothing for the day and possibly get a quick shower in, but was stopped at his mantle. There were more pictures of Harry and the Marauders there than before, Remus's having been added in. He picked up one picture that showed Harry not long after Voldemort was defeated.

His son looked washed out, his face drawn, his eyes tired. He was on the grounds of Hogwarts, standing in the quidditch stands, and did not seem to know he was being watched. Except for the occasional sigh or blink the picture could have been mistaken for muggle.

Life had not been easy for Harry Potter, and even after fulfilling his prophecy he continued to feel the strain, and the public still expected him to bear a burden far heavier than any of them could manage.

"I keep it to remind me," Remus said softly behind him. Severus almost started... he had not heard or felt Remus approaching.

"Of?" Severus prompted. There were many things that such a picture could remind Remus of, and Severus was curious as to the particular meaning this one had for him.

Remus took the picture from him and set back in its place, "I ran once, and kept running for twelve years. In those years Harry almost died more than twice, and I wasn't there. I will never abandon my pack again." Severus ghosted one hand along the other man's back, knowing that the promise was to him as well. "You have time for a shower if you go now."

"Are you saying I smell?" Severus lifted one eyebrow, an intimidating look for his students.

His mate only snickered though and kissed him lightly, "I'm a werewolf Severus. Everyone smells... some just better than others." Severus hit him playfully and Remus smiled, then leaned in close, "Your scent is always good Severus, unless you've been brewing. Then the potions overwhelm _you_. Go shower."

Severus snorted, just to show that he would not be taking orders, but went nonetheless. His shower was quick and they arrived at breakfast before the vast majority of students made their way in, many still rubbing their eyes in sleepiness.

As always, Remus was first to notice the owl post approaching and Severus was prepared for the peck of owls that flew into the hall. Under cover of the hoots and shrieks of the birds Minerva leaned over to him.

"Care to tell me why Hogwarts is being incessantly happy this morning?" Minerva asked him with her eyes bright. "Torches are brighter, portraits are almost giddy, and then there's the guardian to my office..."

"Some living arrangements may have been adjusted," Severus said as if it was an everyday occurrence. He let a small smirk appear on his face then and said in an undertone, "Would you really like to hear the details?"

The blush that slowly colored her cheeks was answer enough. Remus chuckled softly on Severus's other side, no doubt listening in on their conversation. A tawny owl dropped Severus's copy of the _Daily Prophet_, not waiting for payment as he paid for his subscription on a yearly basis.

The headline instantly had the entire hall talking, and promised that the staff would be meeting soon to discuss the implications and make plans for a visit. The Order would have to meet as well.

**AMOS DIGGORY SWORN IN AS SIX-HUNDRED-EIGHTY-FIRST MINISTER OF MAGIC**

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	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter Twenty-Four**

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Harry sighed and stared into space.

Sirius had told him that the Wizengamot and Department Heads had selected Amos Diggory as the next Minister of Magic. While he was certainly a better option than some of the other candidates, Harry could not help but wish that Arthur Weasley or Amelia Bones had been selected instead. He couldn't really complain, had no right to, as he had absented himself from the selection process. He simply hadn't wanted to be around that many people with emotions running high as they must have been during the process.

Diggory was sworn in amidst much pomp and circumstance. There was going to be a ball, to which Harry was invited of course, but he didn't really think anyone expected him to accept. Harry never attended those functions, fundraisers, or ceremonies. He got invitations, donated money, and declined any public events. No matter how much progress he made, crowds just made Harry anxious and occasionally ill.

Charlie was getting closer to the window in the great room where Harry stood. Harry could feel the crackle of their combined magic all along his skin, delighting in their nearness. Soon enough arms encircled him and lips pressed to his neck in greeting.

"It wasn't your fault Harry," Charlie whispered in his ear. "Amos doesn't blame you. His wife doesn't blame you. Yvonne and Robin don't blame you. None of the Diggorys do."

His muscles tightened and not even Charlie could relax him just then. One thing Harry would never hear argument against was his guilt. He _knew_ that just by being friends with him, knowing him, or in Cedric's case happening to stand next to him at just the wrong time had cost people their lives. While he may not have cast the curses that killed them, he was the reason they were dead.

Despite Amos Diggory and his wife being members of the Order, Harry had successfully managed to completely avoid them. He couldn't face the parents of the boy whose death he felt responsible for then any more than he could when he was seventeen.

Charlie sighed. Both of them knew he would continue to try convincing Harry that he was not responsible for all those deaths, and both knew that it would take more than even Charlie could offer to assuage that guilt.

"When are you headed back down?" Harry moved his head to provide better access to his neck. He wriggled just a bit, aligning their bodies better.

"Tonight I think," Charlie answered as his tongue, teeth, and lips worked at Harry's skin. His hands traveled over Harry's shirt and found their way inside to touch his chest, lightly dancing over his ribs, every one of which could be easily felt. Harry felt the short pang of pain-sorrow-yearning-guilt from Charlie as if it were his own.

"I know."

He was painfully thin still. He still had nightmares. He still had panic attacks. It was more under control, but all still there, and at times Harry wondered, as he knew Charlie did, if he would ever recover, if such a thing was possible. There had been a time when Harry transformed at least once a month to his phoenix form, and now he had managed a year without, but it was still necessary.

Charlie's hold tightened and his chin rested on Harry's shoulder. Harry sank into the embrace and closed his eyes. He let their bond wrap around him and cushion him, separate him entirely from the world around him. It was those moments that gave him optimism that perhaps he would be free one day, that he might have a chance at the normality he strived for his entire life.

"Need a lift to Romania?" Harry asked as he turned in the arms of his boded. He directed his magic, and music filled the room. Harry felt Charlie smile at him and start to move, both of them thinking back to when Charlie taught Harry to dance.

Charlie hummed along to the tune for a few minutes, "If you're offering..." He laughed lightly, "I can get there either way."

Harry just nodded and continued to move with the music, his body firmly pressed against Charlie's. They could feel the approach of the other inhabitants of the manor but paid them no mind. It would not be the first time their children had walked in on their fathers dancing, or holding each other, or just kissing. If it had ever made them uncomfortable Harry and Charlie would have done something, but all they could feel from their children at times like those was happiness and security.

Sirius was there too, and his emotions were mixed. Harry felt from him some regret, just a touch of jealousy, and over all of that was hope. When Harry looked up he saw Sirius was sitting on the stairs with the children crowded around him. Harry smiled, and they all smiled back, the children grinning wide and Sirius with a wistful look on his face.

Brenna the house-elf popped into the room then to announce that dinner was ready and the children thundered up the stairs, Sirius following them at a slightly more dignified pace.

Harry reluctantly stepped back but didn't break contact, "I wish you didn't have to go."

"It's my job," Charlie said with a shrug.

This was another discussion they'd had before. Neither of them needed to work. They had enough money to last indefinitely and to support all four children and their future families. Charlie continued to work with the dragons because he loved it, and because the other handlers were like family. Harry worked with the Ministry and Confederation because he felt it was his duty. The Academy only rarely required his attention.

Harry closed his eyes again as Charlie kissed him. The kiss stretched out until, with a little twinge of guilt, they broke apart knowing that dinner was waiting for them.

"Bye Dad," Carver was the last of the four to say goodbye to Charlie for the next several days that he would spend in Romania. Randy had already extracted promises of pictures and messages to the handlers and the dragons.

"See you soon Carver," Charlie kissed his forehead and then turned and nodded to Harry. He gave Sirius a wave before he felt the interesting warm sensation of phoenix travel.

Saying goodbye to Harry took much longer of course, and ended with Charlie absolutely exhausted on their bed in Romania, "You can spend the night you know."

"I would," Harry mumbled, his words muffled by the pillow his face was pressed against, "but the kids and Siri expect me back."

"We'll get through this Harry," Charlie said in a firm, tight voice. Tension rose. "We've been through so much more. We will weather this storm as well."

"I know," Harry lifted his head to make eye contact.

Charlie brushed back sweaty strands of black hair. He kissed Harry and then dressed him with a spell. Harry laughed and they shared a final kiss before Harry disappeared to return to England.

Harry was doing very well, considering. For two days he had not left the property of Potter Manor. He did not read the _Daily Prophet_ that Sirius received, though from Sirius's moods he guessed there had been another attack. He was not answering his Order phone, as none of the calls were from Charlie. He did not attend the Order meeting that was called, but rather stayed at home watching all the Potter and Weasley children. Harry had nearly forgotten about the stolen dark artifact.

Sirius visited the majority of the Black properties and he selected a townhouse on a small garden street off of Diagon Alley. It would put him right in the middle of things. He was moving his scant belongings into the house, refurnishing it, and adjusting the wards and Floo connection.

Harry sat at breakfast drinking his coffee. It was early in the morning, far too early for the children or Sirius to be awake. The house was still, peaceful, and Harry enjoyed his coffee and one of the cinnamon chip scones that the house-elves had made that morning, even if something felt a little off. He moved in his chair, antsy, unable to get comfortable.

There was the popping sound of a house-elf arrival, and Harry was surprised to see Winky. She still lived at Hogwarts, where the majority of the post for the Potter-Weasley family was diverted. Winky continued at the job Albus had given her, sorting the mail and destroying anything dangerous, while Dobby split his time between Hogwarts and the Order. Fan mail and unsolicited post went back to its senders and approved personal post forwarded on to Potter Manor or Romania, depending on where they were at the time. Hedwig, Pig, and Flynn (who had replaced Errol when the ancient owl could no longer fly any great distance) were the only owls that could directly reach them.

"What is it Winky?" Something about the house-elf's stance made Harry sit up straighter and do a quick check of the Manor to make sure everyone was still there and safe.

"Winky is sorry Master Harry," Winky sniffed, handing out an envelope. "Winky sent this back, but it came again this morning."

Harry did his best to comfort the house-elf. The elves of Hogwarts and Potter Manor were under strict orders to keep all butterbeer away from Winky, and Harry thought he might have to reiterate those orders. Winky was very upset. She sniffed again and popped back to Hogwarts.

The writing on the envelope was unfamiliar, but there were a number of spells that charmed quills to take dictation, which made handwriting completely unreliable as an identifying characteristic. The letter was not imbued with a magical signature, and the traces of magic clinging to it were unfamiliar. There were no curses, hexes, dangerous substances, or potions.

Harry slit the envelope open carefully and took out a single sheet of parchment.

_We have him._

That was all it said.

Instantly Harry considered who it could be referring to. Carver and Randy were upstairs and asleep, as was Sirius. His father and Remus were at Hogwarts. The most vulnerable people right then were Charlie, in Romania, and Ron, at quidditch training.

Forcing himself not to jump to conclusions Harry took out his phone and dialed Ron. It took several rings, but the phone was answered.

"Hey Harry, haven't seen you around much recently. What gives?" Ron sounded out of breath, and had probably interrupted practice to take his call.

"You're at practice right? You're safe?" Harry's voice demanded answers immediately.

"Of course I am," Ron was confused, but there was no big surprise there. "Harry, what –"

Harry had hung up before Ron could finish his question. He didn't have time to explain. He dialed again, calling Charlie, and waited a full minute before hanging up. His phone rang the instant he ended his call, but Harry saw it was Ron. He ignored the call and on second thought turned the phone off. He needed to concentrate.

Upstairs, Harry shut himself in his bedroom and shut the door, locking it securely. He sat down on the bed and within moments had reached a meditative state. Focusing, he found his bond with Charlie and tuned out everything else, following the bond to find Charlie... but found nothing.

It hit him like a hard punch to the gut. His concentration was broken and Harry was bent over, gasping. The bond was still there... so Charlie was still alive... but it was muffled, dampened... and once Harry knew the source of his unease all morning it increased dramatically.

He could no longer feel Charlie.

For five years Charlie had been an extended part of him. No matter how far apart they were physically, they were still together. But now it was like someone or something had stepped between them, blocking their bond from reaching each other.

Quickly Harry assessed his options. Charlie was taken from Romania, and whoever took him was holding him somewhere, doubtless waiting for Harry to attempt a rescue, which he would of course do.

The children had to be taken somewhere safe, which meant Hogwarts. Harry first connected to the manor's wards. He enhanced them until the house was closed up tightly. Only Harry, Charlie, or Sirius would be able to get in or out, and only Harry could bring people with him. If Charlie returned to the manor Harry would know the instant he breeched the wards.

"Tawney!"

Harry stalked through the manor, headed towards the opposite wing and his children's bedrooms. As he passed doors he spelled belongings to pack.

"Yes Master Harry?"

"I am leaving. The children will be at Hogwarts with Dad. You must be prepared to defend the manor," Harry said, keeping as much control as he could. He could feel anxiety building. Charlie was missing. It was simple – Harry could not live without Charlie.

Tawney's eyes watered, "Yes Master Harry."

"When Sirius wakes inform him," Harry ordered.

"Yes Master," Tawney bobbed and popped away, knowing the orders were complete.

He didn't bother to wake the children, but brought each one of them straight to their bed in his father's quarters at Hogwarts. He went through their room in the castle out to the sitting room, which had changed quite a bit since the last time Harry had seen it. He didn't have a moment to spare though, or even the ability to offer a small smile for his father and Remus, but went right to what he now knew was _their_ bedroom, not just his father's, and knocked once before entering.

His father woke quickly, grabbing his wand and sending a stunner at Harry that he let hit and be absorbed by the necklace he still wore, a gift from the other dragon handlers. There was an answering glow from his magic, which was starting to hum with his anxiety. The green thread of his magic that was from Eliza, that he noticed grew whenever he was in danger, was thrumming and swelling.

"Fuck Harry," Snape swore upon seeing who was there. Remus was also up instantly, but recognized him more quickly and didn't curse him. "What are you doing?"

"Charlie is gone," Harry felt himself starting to lose it but fought for control. He needed to keep himself together long enough to find Charlie. "I have to find him. The kids are here. Keep them safe."

He spoke in quick, clipped sentences, all he could really manage.

"Harry," Snape got of bed and walked towards him, his eyes softening. Harry felt wariness and concern emanating from his father. "Stay for a bit. Talk to me. Tell me what is going on. What do you mean Charlie is gone?"

"Someone has him," Harry said, and he felt like every moment there was a moment wasted, a moment closer to losing Charlie forever. "I have to go."

Before his father could get closer Harry vanished, headed straight for Romania, Charlie's last known location.

The house there was clearly empty. There had not been a fire in the grate for over a day. Charlie's magic lingered, but just barely. Harry closed his eyes and concentrated. Threads of magic brightened and filled his vision.

Charlie was the last person to be in that house, and Harry before him. No one had come there to take Charlie away by force. He shifted his concentration to the fireplace. A few people had tried to contact Charlie there over the past couple of days, none of them successful. Unfortunately, it meant that Harry could not trace back far enough to see if someone had tried to talk to Charlie, or if Charlie had Floo'd somewhere.

Slowly Harry walked through each room until he determined that Charlie had last stood by the fireplace, as his feel was the strongest there. That made it a high probability that Charlie had left by Floo, had left of his own free will. The question remaining was where he had gone.

Hopefully, Charlie would have let someone know where he was going, even if it was just a quick trip. Harry walked swiftly out of the house tent and headed towards the common tent, where breakfast was winding down. There would be enough people there that if someone knew something, Harry would get some answers.

" 'Arry!" Jean Pierre jumped up from his seat and ran over to greet him.

Whereas years ago Jean Pierre might have hugged Harry roughly, lifting him off the ground, he recognized that Harry was nervous and anxious, and so he kept his physical distance but sent calm towards Harry. Soon everyone there had detected something odd going and joined in with Jean Pierre. The efforts of all those Empaths succeeded in easing Harry's anxiety somewhat.

"Did Charlie talk to any of you before he left?" Harry questioned quickly, eagerly.

Glances were exchanged, and heads shook from side to side. Harry felt his heart drop. Not one of them knew where Charlie was. Anya stood from her place next to Jeremy and Harry noticed, his senses fully open as they were, that she was pregnant. The couple would have to leave the preserve soon.

"We haven't even seen him Harry," Anya told him, her face clearly showing the concern that everyone there felt. "We did not know he was back. I was going to contact you today, as he was due back earlier this week."

Harry nodded. These people were, in a way, family, but he felt distanced from them just then, as though a gulf of experience separated them.

"If he comes back Harry," Jean Pierre said without his usual joviality, "we will send him to find you."

"Thank you," Harry nodded again and spun on his heel, headed back to the tent. He had to change the wards there to the same level that the manor currently held and make a decision as to what to do next.

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	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter Twenty-Five**

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Sirius woke and moved his tongue around, trying to get rid of that cottony morning mouth feeling. Then he remembered the glass of water on his nightstand and reached for it to take a deep drink. After so many years on the run, and in prison, he always forgot the glass was there. Water first thing in the morning was a luxury, a toothbrush even more so.

It was early, earlier than he usually got up, and he wondered why for a moment... until he heard his phone barking.

"Whoever is calling me better have a damn good reason," Sirius mumbled as he staggered out of bed and across the room, rubbing his face to get the sleep out of it. He flipped open the phone, "Yeah?"

"Sorry to disturb your beauty sleep," the caustic voice responded.

Sirius nearly swore, loudly and extensively, but remembered his promise to Harry and the apology he made, "It's too damn early Snape."

"Well that's too fucking bad Black," Snape growled at him, and Sirius heard Remus in the background urging Snape to calm down. "Find Harry now."

"Sure, whatever," Sirius yawned and grabbed a dressing gown. He stuffed his arms in it and tied it around his waist before opening the door and walking across to the sitting room, and further to the master tower where Harry and Charlie slept.

"Hang on a minute." Sirius knocked on the bedroom door. "Why didn't you call his phone?"

"I did. He's not answering," Snape said harshly. "I highly doubt he's in the manor."

"Huh?" Sirius felt himself starting to wake up a little. True enough, Harry wasn't answering the door. It was only then that Sirius noticed the manor was unnaturally quiet.

"He stormed into our bedroom this morning," Sirius steadfastly tried to ignore that Snape said 'our', not 'my', "and told me Charlie is missing. He left the children here and was gone before I could get anything more out of him."

"Oh," Sirius blinked his eyes as the ramifications hit him like the Knight Bus at full speed, "oh fuck."

"Oh fuck is right," Snape said with venom. "Now get your ass to Romania and keep an eye on him. Get Tawney to give you the emergency potions. They're all labeled. If you have any questions call me. If Harry loses control knock him out however you can and get him to me as quickly as you can. Get moving."

Snape hung up without a further word and Sirius looked at the phone in confusion for a moment before snapping into action. He folded the phone and put it in his pocket.

Charlie was missing, which meant Harry was out looking for him. Snape thought Harry was in Romania, and that Sirius had time to get to him there, which would probably take a good hour or so. Snape was sending Sirius, trusting Sirius, to make sure Harry didn't do anything stupid or lose himself in this search. He didn't know about the former, as Sirius was the king of stupid, but he could manage the latter.

"Tawney!"

Sirius was racing back to his room. He needed to pack a bag of clothing. They would need money and food as well. The house-elf appeared and Sirius started giving orders before it spoke.

"Charlie is missing. Harry and I have to find him. Pack a bag for Harry with clothing and other essentials. We'll need a bag with food that can travel, and if there's money kept in this house we'll need that too. Snape said something about emergency potions."

"Yes Master Sirius," Tawney bowed and left.

Various house-elves arrived with Sirius's requests. There was a large backpack for Harry, a leather case that had to have the potions, and another bag that probably had food. Tawney came in with a money bag that went into Sirius's backpack with the potions case.

The house-elves all waited for him and Sirius thought fast. He could apparate, but he would have to stop several times. It had been a long time since he had apparated that far as well. He could make a Portkey, but it would be an illegal one and he didn't want to give the Ministry any excuse to toss him back into prison.

"Is there an emergency Portkey in this house to get to Romania?" Sirius decided to test his luck.

The house-elves exchanged glances. Sirius was not technically their master, but they had been instructed to obey him. Just giving him the money and Harry's clothes had probably been a stretch for them.

Eventually Tawney nodded, "Yes Master Sirius, but –"

"If this isn't an emergency I don't know what is," Sirius said sharply. "I need to get to Harry now."

They all nodded, and popped away. There was another pop and a small statue of a dragon, a Hungarian Horntail, appeared on his bed. Sirius made sure he had all the bags and he picked up the dragon, feeling a tug behind his navel.

He shook his head, and then saw the hex headed his way. He rolled and managed to dodge at the absolute last moment, putting the couch between him and his attacker.

"It's me Harry!" Sirius yelled out, though Harry should have recognized him from his feel.

"What are you doing here?" Harry demanded. His voice was unlike Sirius had ever heard it. It sounded brittle and shaky.

He stood up cautiously, his hands in the air, "Snape sent me. He told me Charlie is missing."

Harry seemed to shake just slightly, his eyes watering, before he gained control over his body and nodded, "He is."

"Let me help you find him," Sirius offered, walking towards his godson carefully.

Harry gave him a short, sharp nod, "Fine. Sit." Harry pointed to the couch and then started pacing.

"He was here last?" Sirius asked, looking around. There had been no struggle here, no duel. Harry nodded. Sirius saw parchment and pulled it towards him.

_Last seen – Romania_

_Left willingly and alone_

_No note_

_No call_

_Not answering phone_

_Bond blocked_

Sirius winced at that last one. After it was explained to him Sirius finally understood the importance of the bond between Harry and Charlie. Without it Harry was going to lose his shields and be open to every feeling around him, all the magic around him. There was more writing a little further down.

_Vampires and dementors attacking_

_Fudge assassinated_

_Albus dead_

_Stone stolen_

"I thought Albus's death was natural?" Sirius questioned after looking at the list.

"We can't assume anything," Harry was curling his hands into fists and uncurling them, repeating the action over and over as he paced. It was making Sirius slightly dizzy but he just looked away. He wasn't about to ask Harry to stop if the repetitive motion was helping.

Sirius looked down at the parchment again, "Once... Voldemort had Lily." Harry's head snapped to him, his eyes wide, and Sirius guessed Remus had never told him that story. "You father managed to track her, just closed his eyes and concentrated and found her, but he never told me how."

"They were already married," Harry said, not asking. "Dad must have used their bond. I can't. I tried."

Sirius nodded and looked down again. There had to be something...

"That stone," Sirius picked off the list, remembering the artifact that had been taken from Cyclops' home. "Did you ever figure out what it was?"

"No," Harry shook his head. "I just know it's dark... disgustingly dark... just being around it made me sick."

Sirius nodded thoughtfully, "So the only people who would use this are willing to have that stain on their souls. How many Death Eaters are left out there?"

"We haven't looked for it that way," Harry said thoughtfully. "These things have to be connected. There are few reasons to take Charlie. There's ransom, but there's been no demand. If it was just to hurt me, he'd be dead. But if someone wanted to keep me busy..."

Harry sat down across from Sirius and took the parchment, writing quickly again.

"Someone wants me out of the way, busy looking for Charlie," Harry said as he wrote. "Someone wants people nervous, maybe even panicking, and wants the Aurors stretched thin, so the dementors and vampires are attacking. Someone wants to use that artifact."

"Whoever could do this," Sirius nodded in agreement, "had to have been a Death Eater. No one knows where the dementors have been, and they suddenly appear again. If Voldemort had them hidden away somewhere then only Death Eaters could find them and control them."

Harry picked up from there, "Only a Death Eater would be that concerned about me getting involved I think, and probably only Inner Circle at that. We've kept what I can do quiet."

"Damn," Sirius shook his head. "So who's still out there?"

Pacing again, Harry started counting off on his fingers, "Rookwood, Belletrix, Avery, McNair, Malfoy, and Wormtail are definitely dead. Dad left the fold. I think I killed the other Lestranges. Two others died in the battle, but I don't know which ones, or even if they were Inner Circle."

"That's all?" Sirius was amazed. He expected the body count would have much higher.

Harry nodded, "Lots were transfigured, stunned, incapacitated, and there were some bad injuries. I think one of them is still a statue outside Hogwarts. She won't let that one go. I'm guessing he was particularly brutal."

Sirius decided not to ask. He could find out what the hell Harry was talking about when they found Charlie and got back. Remus could explain. He understood Hogwarts better than anyone Sirius ever knew.

"How many are in prison?" Sirius continued his questioning.

"At least fifty from that battle," Harry chewed on his lower lip and Sirius watched him intently. "A good thirty or so were caught later thanks to confessions and a copious amount of Veritaserum." Harry sighed and stopped to lean against the doorway to the kitchen. "The problem is we don't know exactly how many there were. We got the names of everyone at the attack on Hogwarts thanks to Moony's Map, but there could have been more out there.

"There was one," Harry's eyes focused on something distant that Sirius couldn't see. "Dad heard at least one Inner Circle member when he was still one of them that he couldn't identify... who definitely wasn't at the battle. All those names he knew. There were no foreign wizards there too. And then there are supporters and spouses..."

"So basically too many people to narrow down the field at all," Sirius said in frustration.

"Maybe," Harry perked up just a bit, "but we're missing something. Whoever did this was able to get Charlie to leave here of his own free will, which means Charlie knows him, so I probably know him."

"Harry?" Sirius prompted.

Sirius's Order phone started barking again and he made to answer it when Harry interrupted his movements, "Stop. Don't answer."

"What?" Sirius was confused.

"Whoever has Charlie knows him, knows me, which means they could be Order," Harry said sharply. "That means we don't answer our phones. No one can know where we are. They might tell the wrong person. Read text messages, but talk to no one."

His logic was sound, but it was more paranoid than even Alastor, and Sirius wondered if this was what Snape was talking about, if this was what Sirius was supposed to keep from happening. He looked at the phone.

"It's your father," Sirius said softly, hoping to encourage Harry to change his mind.

But Harry just shook his head, "Ignore it, or make it silent. He just wants to know if you found me and how I am."

"How are you?" Sirius prompted, looking at Harry sharply.

Slowly, the confident young man melted away and Harry looked vulnerable and afraid, "Not good Siri... not good... but Dad can't know... he'll want me at Hogwarts... or drugged... I can't..." Harry shook his head and visibly bolstered himself. He took a deep breath. "I need all my power at my command when we find Charlie."

Sirius understood. Snape would be thinking of Harry's immediate health. He would say the Order could find Charlie, but the Order had enough to think about. There was a new Minister, dementors and vampires roaming the countryside, and Albus was gone. He flipped open his phone, but didn't answer it. He turned off the ringer and set it to just vibrate when a call came. He would only answer if it was Charlie's phone.

"What do we do now?" Sirius asked Harry. As an Auror trained during a war he had never gotten as far as investigating. It had always been responding to Death Eaters. If he had lasted longer he might have learned the rest of the job, but he hadn't.

"We need help," Harry admitted. "Call Cyclops. See if the muggle police have made any progress. Get all the information you can, but don't tell him what's going on."

"What are you going to do?"

"I have a much harder call," Harry cringed. "We need someone in the Ministry. I'm calling Ginny."

Sirius remembered her temper, and had fully understood why the Order gave her the nickname 'Spitfire'. Now she was an Auror, and quite formidable from what he'd seen. Sirius did not envy Harry, giving her the news that her brother had been kidnapped.

Harry headed into his bedroom and Sirius sat down on the couch. He dialed Cyclops, and prayed that he picked up. The last thing he wanted to tell Harry just then was that the line was busy, or Cyclops wasn't answering.

"Padfoot?" Cyclops picked up after five rings, which had Sirius getting nervous.

"I'm doing a favor for Harry Cyclops," Sirius began, and then started questioning Cyclops about the break-in and whatever new information he might have.

When he hung up he breathed a sigh of relief. They finally had a lead to work with, some names. The muggle policemen had found some of the electronics being sold and tracked them back to the muggles who had stolen them. They got a name from the muggles that they assumed was an alias, but Sirius guessed was a wizard. After all, it was an old wizarding name.

Harry came out of the bedroom looking more haggard then when he went in, "Ginny will keep her ears and eyes open and her mouth shut."

Sirius nodded, "We get to pay someone a little visit."

"Who?" Harry's eyes flashed, and Sirius felt a desire to step back. He felt threatened all of a sudden.

"Roger Thatcher," Sirius said quickly.

Harry snorted, "I know who that bastard is. Hermione hates him."

"Who is he?"

Harry sneered and Sirius saw Snape in that expression. It was not pleasant.

"He's a house-elf trader," Harry informed him, "a vicious son of a bitch from what I've heard too."

"That gives us our way in," Sirius nodded, his brain working fast. Harry just raised his eyebrows. "Simple. I'm setting up a new house. I tell him I want to buy some house-elves. My family killed off all of ours except Kreacher, and Remus told me what happened to him."

"Back to London?" Harry questioned.

"We can use my new place. No one knows where it is yet."

There wasn't even an acknowledgement from Harry before he grabbed him and Romania disappeared, to be replaced with a little dark street off of Diagon Alley.

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	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter Twenty-Six**

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Severus slammed his phone closed with much more force than was necessary. If it weren't for all the charms on the thing he had no doubt he would have broken it in his anger. He had tried calling several times and now not only was Harry ignoring his phone, but Black was as well.

"Calm down and look at this logically," Remus said, having showered, dressed, and checked on the children to find all of them still sleeping. In an hour or so Severus would check to see if Harry had put a sleeping charm on them. It was lucky it was a Sunday, though the dueling club would probably have to be cancelled for the day.

Severus snarled, and nearly snapped at Remus, but fought against his temper. He had ample practice in thinking before he let his temper get the best of him thanks to Harry, but it had taken some time and pain on both their parts.

He was still too agitated to see whatever it was that Remus apparently saw so readily, "What?"

"Several things are going through Harry's mind right now, aside from the fear for Charlie," Remus sat down and gave Severus a pointed look, then looked to a chair. Severus took the hint and sat as well, and Remus sent for tea from the kitchens. "His primary concern is who has Charlie, and where. Whoever took him had to be able to either get past the security Harry has on their homes, and in Romania that includes more than one dragon, or they know Charlie well enough to lure him away."

"Perfect," Severus closed his eyes and sighed. He started to fix himself a cup of tea. "That means Harry doesn't trust anyone right now."

"He's not going to take calls, and he won't let Sirius either," Remus theorized. "He won't let anyone know where he is, because he is safer that way, which means Charlie is safer."

"Granddad!" Kat's voice shrieked from the bedroom.

Both men jumped to their feet and hurried to where the children had been sleeping. If they hadn't all been awake before Kat yelled out for Severus, they were then.

Severus went straight to her bed and took her in his arms. She was shaking and crying and for a short moment Severus wondered why she hadn't called out for one of her fathers. He was too busy trying to settle her down to dwell on those thoughts much.

"Why are we here?" Carver asked demandingly.

While Severus continued murmuring to Kat and rubbing her back Remus explained the situation, "Your fathers had an emergency, and they want you here with your grandfather where you're safe."

Kat sniffled and Severus waved his wand to clean his robe, judging the tears to be over.

"Is Daddy coming back?" Kat asked in a heartbreakingly vulnerable tone. She wrapped one of her hands in Severus's hair as he stood and started to carry her out to the sitting room.

He brought her to the table at the far end and sat her down on a chair that had longer legs to raise her to the proper height for eating at the table. Remus followed behind with the other three, and lifted Randy onto an identical chair.

"Of course he is sweetie," Severus kissed his granddaughter's forehead.

She and Randy both frowned at him as Carver and Erica watched on carefully, none of them touching the food the house-elves had sent up the moment the children sat down.

"Promise?" Kat and Randy asked at the same time, a bit of accusation in their voices, as though they knew Severus was lying to them.

The difficulty was that he was lying. If Harry did not find Charlie, then Severus doubted he would be back. He had missed raising Harry, but that did not mean he wanted the job of raising his grandchildren. Two of them had already lost their parents once.

"I promise," Severus said, looking Kat in the eye. He had been a spy long enough that lying was something he did well, and Occlumency was second nature. The emerging Empathy of the children wouldn't pick up on his hesitancy or doubt.

Remus lifted his eyebrows from behind Carver's chair as he went around the table and put food on the children's plates, encouraging them to eat. They were far too young to start picking up Harry's habit of ignoring food when he was worried.

While they ate breakfast Severus went over the changes he would need to make in the foreseeable future to accommodate his grandchildren. Both he and Remus had classes to teach, as did George. Someone needed to watch the children and continue their lessons, and house-elves, while responsible enough, were not sufficient tutors and had a tendency to spoil children, not to mention their absolutely horrendous grammar. He went through the list of relatives that could be trusted and did not have jobs to attend to, which was unfortunately a very short list.

Finally, he narrowed it down far enough that there was only one choice which he was sure Harry would approve of. Severus had never really gotten along with her, but they both did their best not to snap at each other. The interesting part, of course, was that most people assumed that because her husband and children were Gryffindors, she had been as well.

Like her brothers Fabian and Gideon, Molly Weasley (formerly Molina Prewett) had been a Ravenclaw at Hogwarts. Behind her sometimes overbearingly maternal facade was a keen mind and ample wit. Severus had no doubt that she would spend her days at Hogwarts watching after the children if he asked.

"Baths for everyone," Severus announced to answering groans and complaints once breakfast was over, "and then Uncle Moony can take you to see Uncle George."

Remus lifted his eyebrows again, after all Severus had not consulted him on that plan, but nodded anyway, "Who's first?"

That prompted a large argument where each child tried to avoid getting bathed, but ended with Remus deciding to toss all four in the bath at once. If it was large enough for two grown wizards with room to spare, then four small children would easily fit.

Thanks to the lake behind Potter Manor, all the children already knew how to swim, which made bath time much easier on their guardians. Putting four children in the bath at once though also made for more splashes and water fights, leaving both Remus and Severus thoroughly soaked by the time all four children were clean.

Once they were dressed in clean, and dry in the case of the two adults, clothing Remus took the four children out of their quarters and headed towards George's quarters. It was an amusing sight to see Remus with one child clinging to his back, another skipping ahead of him, and one hanging off of each hand, sometimes literally.

Severus smiled at his retreating mate fondly before a frown formed. He did not want to be the one to tell Molly that her second oldest child was missing, but he had no choice.

He activated the wards on his chambers that sealed in all sound and kept out all visitors. Remus would be able to get through with the children, but he was the only one.

"The Burrow!" Severus stuck his head in the fire. He hated making Floo calls, but Order phones were not supposed to be used for daily business. He saw the warm and homey kitchen settle into view, "Molly!"

"Severus," Molly Weasley walked into view and pulled over a low stool to sit on. "What warrants a call this morning?"

She sounded skeptical, not that Severus was surprised. The two of them did not really get along. They argued frequently in Order meetings, and had only ever agreed when it came to admitting Harry into the Order before he left Hogwarts.

"Trouble Molly," Severus kept his face stern, his tone even. He saw her frown and continued. He didn't want her imagination working overtime. "Charlie is missing and Harry has gone after him. He left the children with me and wants them to stay in Hogwarts until he's back."

Her face paled and she gripped the edge of her stool before the pallor faded and angry color rose on her cheeks, "Thank you for telling me Severus."

"We'll need help looking after them Molly," Severus almost didn't notice how he had so quickly taken to saying 'we' instead of 'I'. "Remus and I both have classes."

"I'll be there first thing in the morning," Molly had her determined expression on, the one that many Order members feared. "They have their things with them?"

"Harry packed clothing at least. I didn't get a chance to go through their trunks and the elves would have unpacked already," Severus admitted. "You can decide tomorrow if they need anything they don't have."

It hurt, but Severus was forced to acknowledge that Molly knew far more about raising children than he did. She was a much better judge at what they might need.

Days went by without word from Harry, Charlie, or Black. The Order was informed of Charlie's disappearance, but they limited that to the old 'Harry Circle' that had been formed during the war. Harry had excellent reasoning for keeping out of contact, and Severus and Remus were determined not to ruin that by bringing in too many people.

They were all instructed to make discreet inquiries wherever they could and forward all information to Hermione, who would head up the team searching for Charlie while she was still on maternity leave. Overall though, the Order was far too busy with the continued attacks to make a thorough search.

The Weasley family was both furious and worried that one of their own was missing. Collectively they trusted in Harry to find Charlie though, and knew that none of them could possibly succeed if Harry failed. What Severus found the most interesting was Ginny's reaction. He expected the legendary temper form her, but there was only a cold fire in her eyes.

More than a week had gone by when Ginny made an appearance at Hogwarts. She had actually seen Harry and carried messages from him. The most unfortunate piece of news was that Harry and Sirius still did not know where Charlie was.

It was three days after the students left for the winter holiday, just days before Christmas when Ginny ran into the great hall, her second Hogwarts appearance in just a few days, headed straight for Severus. She greeted her nieces and nephews, who were the subject of much attention from the student body though they rarely appeared in the great hall, quickly before turning to Severus.

"I have to talk to you," Ginny said in a tone he suspected she used for her Auror work, "now."

Severus nodded and stood. He gestured and she walked out ahead of him, headed directly to his office and taking several shortcuts that he was not aware she knew existed. Once inside she supplemented his privacy spells with her own.

"Did you teach Harry Legilimency?" Ginny asked without preamble.

"Yes," Severus answered plainly. He looked in her eyes for a reason for the question but found none.

She was clearly agitated, "Of all the people to send to help him Severus, why did you have to send _Sirius?_ He's even more irresponsible than the twins ever were."

"I had little time and less information to work with," Severus did not like being snapped at, especially by this young Auror who had no idea how difficult the situation was for him. "Whoever left needed to reach Harry before he left Romania. There was no time to get a leave of absence from work, or inform anyone of where you were going."

"None of us would have cared about that!" Ginny stood at her full height, only about five inches shorter than Severus. "That's my brother that's missing!"

"And my son that will die if he does!" Severus barked back at her. "Take your accusations elsewhere Miss Weasley because they are not welcome here!"

Both of them were gripping their wands and breathing heavily in their anger. It was amazing that the glass in the room was still intact, but they both had superb control over themselves.

"Shit," Ginny swore and spun around, her robes swirling. She hit the wall and muttered something Severus didn't pick up.

"Do tell me you had a reason besides yelling at me to come here," Severus said with a sneer. She had to be upset that her brother was missing but Severus did not appreciate her taking out her frustrations on him.

"We have a problem," Ginny turned and took a seat, the anger dissipating. She ran both her hands through her hair and shook her head.

"A new development I presume?" Severus asked silkily. He sat down at his desk. Ginny nodded. He remembered her early remarks. "What have Harry and Black done?"

"Harry forced Legilimency on another wizard," Severus flinched. Forced Legilimency was one step below rape in the eyes of the wizarding world, and not a far step. It did not get an automatic life sentence to Azkaban, but that was one of the many possible outcomes. "He came in and made a formal complaint."

"Are the Aurors looking for him?" Severus felt his stomach twist. Harry would go to extremes to get Charlie back, but if the Aurors were going to interfere... Harry must have been desperate to commit such an act. Casual contact with strange people hurt him enough, without intentionally deepening that contact.

"Publicly yes," Ginny sighed and leaned back. "Not much of an effort is being made though, because of his status."

Severus gave her a questioning look. Even being the Boy-Who-Lived and the Man-Who-Killed-You-Know-Who shouldn't be able to get him out of this trouble.

"What status?"

"The Aurors as a whole weren't too happy at hearing this," Ginny cautioned Severus, a frown on her face, "but the Unspeakables have legal authority to bypass the restrictions placed upon Aurors for investigations."

Severus let his eyes widen, "How much leeway do they have?"

"Total. Legally, they can do whatever they damn well please, and of course the Department of Mysteries is backing him up fully. I had to fill in Hestia and she said that as Charlie is necessary to keep Harry sane, that Charlie's safety is a prime concern of the Department," Ginny snorted. "In a way we're lucky that's all Harry did. The Ministry doesn't want it to get out that the Unspeakables have that kind of power. He could've used Unforgivables if he wanted to. All hell could break loose."

"And the reason you're telling me...," Severus gave her a shrewd look.

Ginny sighed and Severus saw there were dark circles under her eyes, "There's going to be an article in the _Prophet_. If we kept the charges quiet this guy would go public himself. I wanted you to be prepared."

"Why hasn't he just been obliviated?" Severus questioned her.

"Because right now he's our only lead," Ginny was deadly serious. "If Harry did that to him, then it was Harry's only lead to where Charlie is, which means he's a lead for us. He's being watched now. With any luck he'll lead us to either Charlie or someone who knows where Charlie is."

Severus shook his head, "If he knew where Charlie was Harry would already have him back."

"I just hope Sirius is prepared to deal with Harry," Ginny changed from determined Auror to worried sister. "After connecting with that disgusting man he must be a mess."

Something was off, as if Ginny was lying, or hiding something, but Severus didn't bother trying to find out what it was. The girl could have been a Slytherin, but it might have been her experiences in her first year that changed her. There was silence and Severus felt a need for a shot of a whiskey. He didn't have that luxury though. Molly Weasley would be there momentarily to take over with the children, and he had exams to grade.

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	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter Twenty-Seven**

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_"Tell me about him."_

_"Hm?"_

_"Tell me about your cousin."_

_Harry closed his eyes and wriggled just a bit, snuggling in the warmth surrounding him. Charlie's arms were holding him and they were under a feather comforter._

_"My cousin?"_

_"Dudley," Charlie specified. Harry felt something spark in the back of his mind. "Harry," his voice was taking on a slightly stern tone but Harry felt the concern, the worry, the fear, "using Occlumency to help Ron was a brilliant idea, but he needed to be protected from others' memories, not his own. You can't just bury all those memories and feelings."_

_"Dudley...," Harry drew out the name. He thought hard, letting a few of those deeply secreted away memories surface. He flinched. "Dudley. He weighed three times what he should have, he was a cruel bastard, he's dead. You know. You've seen."_

_Charlie's hand rubbed Harry's arm, which was now covered in goosebumps, "I've seen flashes Harry, little pieces here and there, never a full picture. Letting others see isn't enough Harry. You'll need to talk about these things if you ever want to be healthy."_

_A cry came from the next room and Harry thanked the twins for the perfect excuse to avoid the conversation. Another cry started up. Harry and Charlie both foraged around for their sleeping pants and pulled them on._

_Kat and Randy were eighteen months old and nearly sleeping through the night. They only needed one feeding between bedtime and morning. Harry and Charlie entered the nursery at the same time Brenna popped in with two warmed bottles. Each of them took a bottle and a twin and set about comforting the infants._

_"That conversation isn't over," Charlie said from the rocker he sat in with Kat in his arms drinking happily from her bottle._

_Harry just nodded as he adjusted Randy, who was very particular about the position he sat in while eating. Carver and Erica stopped crawling into bed with Harry and Charlie not long after the twins were born. The nightmares had lessened and neither toddler enjoyed being woken by a screaming baby. In their own rooms they didn't hear the nighttime cries of their younger siblings._

_No, the conversation wasn't over, but Harry had a reprieve for another night at least, and meanwhile Charlie had gotten him to unlock some of those memories that he stored as far from his conscious mind as possible._

_Too much had happened after that night, and Charlie had given Harry plenty of time to reflect on his memories, and prodded now and then to encourage other memories to surface. Sirius was back, Albus was gone, Fudge was gone, the dementor and vampire attacks, and then Charlie went missing, and he didn't have a chance to finish the conversation._

Harry trembled, sitting hunched in a corner of a room that had very little furniture in it. He had at some point drawn up his knees to his chest and wrapped his arms around his legs, holding them there and rocking slightly. Everything hurt, even each individual hair, which he had not thought possible until this point. It was too bright, even though only one candle was lit, so he closed his eyes.

_The sound of loose fitting trainers slapping against cracked squares of suburban sidewalk was not terribly loud in the hazy summer afternoon. It blended into the other noises typical of the neighborhood, the hum of air conditioners, the buzz of lawn mowers, the metallic snip of hedge clippers, the laughter and shouting of children. To one little boy in baggy clothing though, the sound echoed in his head, the only one louder being the overlapping thuds of the feet following him._

_It was a game to the ones behind and a sometimes daily fight to keep his skin intact to the small boy fleeing the pursers._

_"Wait up Harry!" The call was playful, as if it was a game of tag and not what his cousin had so gleefully named 'Harry Hunting' during a rare spout of creativity._

_There were two potential outcomes. Dudley and his gang would catch Harry and kick him, hit him, whatever their pleasure was that day, or Harry would manage to escape. He was small, and that worked to his advantage. He could squeeze through fences, hide in tight places._

_It was not to be that day. As he crossed a park, hoping to lose himself in a crowd at a children's football game at the far side, something slammed into his back. He fell forward and his glasses dropped, breaking yet again. They were secondhand to begin with and had broken so many times that Harry couldn't remember what they looked like whole._

_He rolled into a protective ball, his arms over his face and his knees up against his chest. The blows that got him would be less damaging. Harry had learned his lesson over the years._

The pain pervaded not just his body. His mind ached, his magic itself. Harry could not remember a time he had ever felt like this before. If he could have moved he would have taken a scorching hot shower, scrubbing at his skin until it bled, and it would not have been enough. He felt dirty.

It was like there were two of him sitting there on the floor in Sirius's apartment. One of him watched Sirius pace, watched him fret, when he could stand having his eyes open that was. His godfather talked to someone on his Order phone, even though Harry had told him not to. The other one remembered, couldn't keep the images, words, feelings out. Sometimes both of him were sucked in, reliving those moments and others.

He saw torture of house elves, torture of muggles, torture of Death Eaters. Harry relived the emotional, and occasional physical abuse at the hands of his aunt and uncle. There was 'Harry Hunting' again, Dudley and his friends laughing as they chased him, punched him, hit him, kicked him. Severus Snape's uncle hit him and cursed at him, and sometimes magically cursed him as well. The Marauders tormented Snivellous.

_House elves cowered in fear. _

_Muggles cowered in fear. _

_Harry cowered in fear. _

_A young Snape cowered in fear. _

_Wormtail cowered in fear._

Unfortunately it was the sane part of Harry, a very small part just then, that was buried deeply and only sometimes able to watch what was around him. This portion had no control over his body, his mind, as Harry had gone into a defensive mode. He watched as Sirius was repelled by Harry's magic more than once, probably what prompted this call he was making against Harry's explicit instructions.

Harry didn't know how long it had been since they got back from... that place. He could still feel the man inside his head, all through him, and it was nauseating at best. _His _memories triggered other memories, triggered more memories and Harry spiraled. Sirius had been in charge of questioning, but he hadn't been getting anywhere. The man was devious and intelligent, and he knew what was going on.

Then they had made eye contact and Harry couldn't stop it. He was sucked in, drawn into the psyche of a man who traded slaves for a living, treating them no better than he absolutely had to. At one point Harry imagined his Uncle Vernon would have been like that if the man was a wizard. He certainly had enough practice with Harry. Or maybe not, as the Dursleys were entirely too occupied with their public image.

Harry felt himself slipping away again.

_Small elves, children of their kind, lined up against the wall. They each wore a strip of fabric, just enough to cover themselves. Their bulging round eyes peered up at him and their ears were perked up. The young ones were so difficult to train, but they fetched the best price._

_He let them stand there for a time as he turned his attention to the older elves, those old enough for breeding, kept just for that purpose. He assessed them with a skilled eye and with a flick of wand tossed a male and female into a cage together, ordering them to procreate. There was no privacy available for them, and they had no choice but to obey. He glanced their way every now and then to assure that they obeyed his command, along with half a dozen other coupled elves._

_One of the young elves along the wall gasped, bringing his attentions back to them. One by one he hit them with the whipping curse. Most of them had failed at their task. Even those that were successful were hit, just not as hard or as much. They all had to learn their place. They had to be disciplined._

A wave of nausea spread and the scene shifted.

_The whip hit again and again. His shirt had shredded long since and lay on the floor, discolored by blood. They wanted him to cry out, to beg, but he refused. He would not give in, would not submit, would not give them the satisfaction of his screams._

_"Scream little boy!"_

_"Cry out for Daddy!"_

_His skin was cut and blood made his back and legs slick. Still he did not utter a sound and was grateful as darkness overtook him._

In that darkness he was able to get another glimpse of the room and Harry saw Sirius standing far on the other side, his hand holding his cheek as if he had been struck, his magic bright, especially around the cut cheek. Harry's lucid self cringed within, knowing he had to be the one that injured his godfather. Guilt swamped him.

_The family of muggles cowered together and clung to one another in their fear and desperation. He smirked._

_"For you, our new Potions Master," a voice whispered in his ear._

_Darkness swirled all around and through him and it was intoxicating. He lifted his wand and cast his first curse, an Unforgivable of course, and directed the father to take his young son, not even old enough to understand what was about to happen to him. _

_It was an expected beginning to the session, classic Death Eater technique. Always destroy the victim's will, shatter their fragile minds before taking their lives. The mother, daughter, and son pleaded with him, with the Inner Circle of Death Eaters that stood in a ring around them, with the muggle father that was brutally forcing his own child._

_"Very good Severus," the Dark Lord hissed in his ear. A thin hand caressed his back and it was nothing like the hands that had been touching him only hours before. Images of James were forced to the recesses of his mind, not safe at that time._

_Pride mixed with horror and disgust, the latter two pushed down, away, locked in a place where not even he would feel them. Instead he let dark magic rush through him as he lifted the Imperious Curse and cast the Cruciatus on the little girl. The mother tried to comfort her daughter, to take the curse in her place, but was unable as another Death Eater stepped forward to hold her back, stroking her face with deceptive delicacy._

It only got worse from there. Harry struggled against the memory from his father's early days as a Death Eater, from the night that changed his life and turned him into a traitor, a spy for the Order.

_Harry felt McNair take Avery's place behind him, atop him, as Malfoy held him down this time. He was already torn and sore from Avery when McNair started and Harry concentrated on the magic in the room._

This was worse, much worse, and Harry felt full-fledged panic settling in. His body thrashed and wave after wave of magic poured off him. He could almost feel them like he was back in that dungeon, waiting for the perfect moment to rescue his father, taking every bit of torture they threw at him, knowing that he could escape at any time but staying there because somewhere they had his father.

_They didn't have Sirius. It was a trap, but Harry had no choice. He had to go, if only on the smallest chance that Sirius was being held prisoner, was being tortured... because Sirius would do the same for him. Hermione didn't understand. Harry wasn't trying to be a hero. He had no choice._

_And then he was fighting for his life, for his friends, protecting the prophecy sphere that Voldemort desperately wanted and they wouldn't hold out, they wouldn't make it. They were only six teenagers, not even sixteen years old yet, up against twelve fully trained adult wizards, veteran killers._

_Help came, but were they too late. The prophecy broke, was lost, and all his friends were hurt and it was Harry's fault, and Sirius..._

_The light hit him in the chest._

_He fell backwards through the veil._

_The veil was still and Sirius did not appear on the other side._

_"SIRIUS!" Harry yelled, "SIRIUS!"_

"NOOO!" Harry heard himself cry out.

Sirius was there, but that didn't make sense. Harry had seen Sirius fall behind the veil, saw him die.

"Harry?" Sirius, or his ghost, or some impersonation, tried to plead with him.

"You're dead," Harry's lips formed the words without thought. "I saw you die!"

He saw Sirius leave the room and felt the warding being cast, protecting the rest of the house from damage. He wanted to call to his godfather for help, to pull him out of this endless torment, but his voice would not listen as it continued to scream.

_"You worthless little freak!" spittle rained down on Harry as he held his hands up to fend off any blows that might come. "How dare you yell at my Dudley!"_

_Behind Uncle Vernon, Dudley snickered, standing in the doorway and watching gleefully as Harry was punished for some invented crime, yet another of Dudley's favorite pastimes._

_A heavy hand swung out from the massive body and pain exploded through his head. His last thought was that people really did stars when their head was hit, just like the cartoons showed._

Harry's breath heaved as his hands clawed at the floor, his feet trying to push him further back even though he was already pressed against the wall.

_"Crucio!"_

_Belletrix Lestrange screamed and was thrown backwards across the Atrium but did not wriggle and twist in pain like Neville had under the curse._

He shook his head fiercely and felt it hit the wall.

_"Crucio!"_

_The other house elves watched in fear as one of them screamed and begged and writhed on the dirty floor._

Harry gasped, trying to take in enough air, but it wasn't enough, never enough.

_"Crucio!"_

_It was the first time he performed the curse successfully and his uncle laughed, clapping him on the back proudly. Severus smirked and watched the muggle in a detached fashion. After all, it was only a muggle._

He couldn't speak, couldn't force out any sound. Harry was fighting for dominance in his own mind, trying to stop the memories from cascading out and burying him like falling grains of sand.

_Walden McNair wriggled on the ground like a landed fish, his mind in the grips of the curse that Severus cast. It was so very like contact with a dementor, only there was no Patronus to break this curse. That familiar satisfying pull of dark magic made him smirk. Severus stood tall and proud over his victim. This man would never touch his son again._

His throat burned with the bile that rose from his stomach and dribbled down his chin. It smelled foul and his stomach twisted again just at the smell.

_Charlie only half listened as his father chanted the incantation to erect Percy's monument. He scanned the crowd, looking for one face in particular and not seeing it. The note he had sent on Valentine's Day had not been answered, and he had received nothing. It was as though Harry was denying that anything ever existed between them._

_He had talked to Ron, who had been little help. It seemed a bit callous, to be so focused on Harry when Percy had just been killed, but Charlie could not stop himself. Harry invaded his thoughts every hour, every day, and even plagued his sleep. Charlie was hooked and Harry's denial that Christmas had torn his heart to shreds._

_There were Remus and Davey Gudgeon, standing all the way in the back. Neither of them had known Percy well. Remus had taught Percy's last year at Hogwarts, but had been preoccupied with finding Sirius and protecting Harry._

_Harry again... and again... and... Charlie made eye contact with Davey and saw the other man take in a sharp breath even as Charlie did. It was Harry, under disguise by Polyjuice Potion to attend the Memorial anonymously. Charlie felt the wound in his chest reopen and everything in him urged him to run to the other man and drag him inside where they could fix this awful mess._

_But Harry looked down and forced up a barrier between them. It hit Charlie like a punch to the gut and he felt tears well up in his eyes. He blinked them back and did his absolute best to focus on his family, on the reason they were all there that day, and tried to forget that Harry was so close, though he might as well have been on the other side of the world._

His soul reached out for his bondmate to comfort the hurt and was rebuffed again and again, their connection too muted, too dim to find each other. Harry heard the guttural cry from his throat in denial of this separation. He needed Charlie, more than he had ever needed him before.

Harry knew what he had to do, but he had to regain control again, if only for a moment. He needed his magic to obey his command, rather that striking out at random and destroying everything in this room with him, fighting Sirius's wards, which would soon break under the onslaught.

It took more strength of will than Harry had ever had to muster before, but he managed to raise his hands to his head and focus his magic through them, saying one word.

_Stupefy!_

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	28. Chapter 28

**Chapter Twenty-Eight**

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Sirius panted and brushed his fingers through his hair, leaning up against the door that separated him from his godson. _What_ had Snape been _thinking?_ He knew Harry could end up like that and he had just told Sirius to knock him out and bring him to Hogwarts.

A little hollow laugh escaped. Sirius couldn't even get close enough to touch Harry and any spell he shot at him was deflected.

He didn't even know what had happened to make Harry like this. Not just that day, but in the years before. There had to be something more, something he hadn't been told.

Sirius felt like a failure, not at all a new feeling for him. Yet again he had failed in his duties where Harry was concerned. He had gone chasing after Peter, instead of making sure Harry was safe. He had escaped Azkaban for revenge, not for Harry. He went to the Ministry against Dumbledore's orders, got in a fight with his cousin, and fell through that blasted veil. Every time he tried to help Harry he only ended up hurting him.

The phone in his robe pocket started barking and Sirius looked blankly at the display screen. It was Ginny calling, little Ginny Weasley who was all grown up and getting married. Hell, she had given birth to Kat and Randy.

He flipped the phone open and held it to his face.

"Sirius? Is Harry better?" Ginny's voice was calm, but there was an undertone of worry.

"Ha," Sirius barked, and started laughing one of those panicked 'if-I-don't-laugh-I'll-start-to-cry' laughs that he was so well known for. "I'll be lucky if my house is standing tomorrow."

"Damn," Ginny managed to convey much more feeling in that single word than Sirius usually managed in a string of curses. "Your house is in Diagon Alley right?"

"Close," Sirius told her. Harry said not to call anyone, not to tell anyone where they were, but if he was a failure he might as well be a complete failure. Sirius was completely out of his depth. "Meet me in front of Fortesque's. Use Harry, Hermione, and Ron's old name for me."

"Got it," Ginny agreed. "I can be there in half an hour. I just have to tell Amelia that something has come up."

Sirius flipped his phone closed and stared at it. Harry was going to be mad as hell at him, but Sirius didn't know what else to do. At least Harry had already contacted Ginny once. If he hadn't Sirius didn't know what he would have done. There was no way he could call Snape and tell him that he'd failed. And if Harry was dragged back to Hogwarts he'd be furious.

Shaking himself out of the slight stupor he'd fallen into Sirius grabbed a voluminous cloak, floor length and circular, and wrapped himself completely. He pulled up the hood and made it impossible to identify who was under the dark red thick wool fabric.

Outside of his townhouse it was cold, the December winds like little needles of ice against the rare patches of exposed skin. Briefly Sirius thought about Dung and wondered how he survived the winters. Maybe Alastor visited more often then, cast warming charms, and brought coffee and did what he could for his cousin.

Warming charms.

Sirius could have kicked himself, but he was distracted and no longer accustomed to using magic for every little thing. Looking back at the door he hesitated before finally descending the three steps to street level. He cast a warming charm on his cloak and gloves.

It felt wrong leaving Harry in such a state. Sirius had no idea what Harry was seeing, thinking, feeling, only that he was clearly not in his right mind and suffering. He thought still that Sirius was dead and struck out at him. His cheek still stung and he expected a spectacular bruise. All his healing potions had to be saved in case Harry, or Charlie when they found him, needed them. Sirius was terrible at healing charms. That had always been Remus's job.

Only the charms on the cloak kept the wind from blowing the hood off Sirius's face. There was a periodic drizzle, not quite cold enough to be icy, the temperature hovering just around freezing.

Fortesque did very little business in the winter. He kept the interior of his shop heated nicely, but very few craved ice cream when the outside temperature managed to reach inside their bodies and make their bones ache in the cold. Sirius stood under the awning and found just a bit of shelter from the wind next to a pilaster. He leaned against a window and the warmth from inside the shop seeped comfortably through the glass and his cloak.

"Snuffles?"

A tall figure in a similar cloak slunk up to his side. She had gotten within ten feet of him without his notice, something that never would have happened before Azkaban, but the years in the prison destroyed his finely tuned Auror senses.

"Hey Spitfire," Sirius said quietly. "Just follow me."

He started off, trusting her to keep up as he walked with the wind behind him now. It was a pleasant change from drying out his eyes and making his nose run. Outside his house he heard a low whistle and turned to his companion.

"He's in really bad shape, isn't he?" Ginny asked in a low tone, though she didn't really need an answer. She must have felt Harry's magic.

Sirius felt his heart plummet, "I don't know what happened. We were fine... and then he..."

"Let's get inside," Ginny prompted him and Sirius remembered that talking outside, in the open, wasn't safe, even if people had to be insane to be out in that weather.

The door opened with a little creak and Sirius spoke the coded word to light the hall. It was one of the many security precautions he installed. He heard the door close and lock behind him and he paused, unsure what to do next. He felt the guilt settling over him again and was about to start explaining what he thought had gone wrong when he felt like a sharp electrical current had run through his body, originating directly from his rear.

"Ow!" Sirius yelped, "What was that?"

"Stinging hex," Ginny replied dryly.

"I know it was a Stinging Hex," Sirius was exasperated. "Why did you hex me?"

"You and Harry," Ginny flung back her hood and prodded his chest with her wand, forcing him to back up. "The two of you are exactly alike sometimes. You both are constantly blaming yourselves for events which are entirely beyond your control! You didn't cause this. Now suck it up and help your godson!"

Sirius felt his eyes widening and _really_ began to understand her Order nickname. Lily had been the same way sometimes, and the similarity between them was almost painful. He wondered how Remus and Snape dealt with it. He was almost thankful Harry hadn't known his mother better.

"Just like Lily," Sirius murmured.

Ginny crossed her arms and raised her eyebrows, "Pardon?"

"Lily never hesitated to hex us when she thought we were being idiots, which was often," Sirius allowed, and internally thanked Remus profusely for going over some of his memories with him, and Lily and James as well for leaving those portraits behind. He was starting to patch together his past a bit.

"Good," Ginny nodded in approval. "If you were anywhere as near as bad as I expect then you needed a strong hex every now and then."

Sirius grinned at that, and then remembered why he had brought Ginny to his house. He took her arm and led her to the room he had warded against Harry's leaking magic, glad he had at least remembered the wards. They hadn't been broken, so Harry had either exhausted himself or was no worse off than before, which was little comfort.

"Before we go in, tell me exactly what set him off," Ginny ordered imperiously.

Sirius nodded and summoned two chairs from another room for them, sitting and rubbing his face with his hands. He took off his cloak and draped it over the back of the chair.

"He was fine, or at least seemed fine, before we went to see this guy that trades in house elves. The muggle police got his name in connection to the robbery from Cyclops," Sirius explained and Ginny nodded as if this was not news to her. "Harry thinks that this is all connected."

"It's been relatively quiet for years, then all of a sudden all hell is breaking loose," Ginny said thoughtfully. "It would make sense for it all to be linked somehow."

"So I was questioning the guy, but we weren't getting anywhere," Sirius closed his eyes and shook his head. He had hesitated, and suspected that was why Harry had stepped in. "I didn't want to risk getting sent back to Azkaban. I couldn't even bring myself to cast questionable spells, never mind something that would actually be persuasive."

Soft, smaller hands encased his and Sirius looked up, his eyes tearing. There had been a heart stopping moment of fear. Sirius would risk his life for Harry, would gladly give it up to protect his godson, but couldn't bear the thought of going back to prison. Just the image of his cell made him weak, impotent.

"Tell me what Harry did," Ginny urged him tenderly. She must make a superb interrogator.

He took a steadying breath, "They both went quiet. I have no idea what was going on. They just stared at each other, then Harry grabbed my arm and apparated us into that room," Sirius gestured to the door. "I thought everything was fine and I asked him what was going on, and he snapped. He started shaking and waves of magic were just pouring off of him."

Ginny was nodding slowly, "That's how it happens."

"How _what_ happens?" Sirius finally snapped himself. "Snape told me to knock him out and take him to Hogwarts if it got bad. I know his shields are weak but it's not like we were in a crowd or anything. And I can't even get close enough to touch him let alone use any magic on him!"

The redhead snorted. With a wave of her wand over his face she healed the cut and the bruise that was forming, "That much is clear, and Severus still understates everything. Harry's shields aren't weak. Without Charlie they are nonexistent."

Sirius swallowed and felt a pit forming in his stomach. They should have just brought Harry to Hogwarts in the first place if things were that bad. What was everyone thinking letting him try this with _Sirius_ of all people, who had no clue how to handle Harry now?

"I lived with them for a year Sirius," Ginny looked towards the room that Harry was sealed in and her eyes softened. "When Harry loses it Charlie is the only one that can bring him back."

"So what does that mean?" Sirius's frustration with the whole situation was growing, and it didn't help when Ginny wiped the corners of her eyes as if she was starting to cry.

"It means that if we don't manage to get some Raivannin into Harry or get Charlie back, that we've lost him," Ginny sniffed and her head bowed. "Even if he uses the potion..."

Sirius understood. It had been fully explained to him what Raivannin did. Under the effects of the drug a wizard became a squib, but it wasn't just a simple matter of cutting them off from their magic. Magic was a part of the wizard. Sirius wasn't sure if it was crueler than the dementor's kiss. At least then the victim didn't live a half life.

It would never end. Sirius was bitter suddenly. At least everyone else had several years reprieve from loss and madness. He had fallen into that damn veil and been pulled out in what felt like a moment later, told that the world was right again, only to find that it was more messed up than ever.

The tension in the house quieted and Sirius's head snapped towards the room he left Harry in, "Something changed."

"Open the door," Ginny commanded, her wand out, her body set in the defensive posture taught in Auror training.

Sirius found that he automatically assumed the same stance and he flicked his wand to drop a few of the wards and open the room.

They entered and saw that whatever furniture had been there was utterly destroyed. Sirius doubted that even magic could fix it. Harry was slumped to the side, one side of his face showing a great bruise. He looked fragile and small as Sirius rushed to his side, Ginny right beside him. She started casting a series of spells that Sirius could only vaguely classify as healing spells and sighed, brushing her fingers through his hair in a vain effort to neaten it.

"He managed to stun himself," Ginny told Sirius. "It will wear off before long though, so we only have a few minutes to get the potion into him."

She pulled out a vial before Sirius even started to summon the case of emergency potions from the Manor and gave Sirius a bitter smile, "I had a feeling you might need more than you have."

She took off the cap and Sirius leaned Harry's head back, prying his mouth open to accept the potion. They poured it down his throat and he swallowed reflexively.

"How much is a dose?" Sirius asked, hoping Ginny would know.

She snorted again, "Severus really didn't prepare you for this."

"He didn't exactly have the time to go over every little detail," Sirius admitted, not nearly as disgusted with himself for defending Snape as he would have been in his past. The wind had gone out of the sails of their rivalry. There was no real reason for it anymore.

"One vial will last twenty-four hours," Ginny said and then grinned at him. "Of course, with Harry it only dampens his magic, doesn't eliminate it altogether. He can usually fake that he isn't even under the effects."

"Good," Sirius started thinking ahead, and incredibly relieved at her words. Harry would still be able to feel his magic. "Because I'm pretty sure he's going to insist on continuing. We may have to use the threat of force more than force itself to get through this."

Harry spluttered then and started to shake. His eyes opened slowly and he looked up at then, and reached out for Ginny immediately, "Gin."

"Shh," Ginny hugged Harry tightly and stroked his hair.

"It's so confusing," Harry said so quietly that Sirius almost didn't hear him.

He fought back the jealousy that Harry had ignored Sirius and looked for comfort from Ginny instead.

"I know Harry, I know," said Ginny soothingly. "Charlie is missing. Sirius is back. The two of you are looking for him. You connected with someone without your barriers."

Harry pulled away from his sister-in-law with a flush, probably of embarrassment, on his cheeks. He composed himself, his head dipped down and hiding. Ginny motioned with her head and they retreated to the hall, giving Harry some privacy. Sirius didn't say anything, not wanting Harry to hear any concerned questions he might ask Ginny. She slipped him a case full of vials just like the one they gave to Harry and he tucked it into a robe pocket.

"I'm sorry."

Sirius and Ginny both turned to see Harry, his face no longer bruised but his hair messier than usual and his eyes bloodshot. His posture was defensive, his arms wrapped around his chest and his shoulders slumped.

Careful not to make eye contact Sirius hugged him, gently at first then tighter when he felt Harry relax in his hold, "You have nothing to apologize about Harry."

"What have I told you Harry?" Ginny asked sternly. Sirius could just picture Lily or Molly standing there. What was it about redheaded women?

"I do not control everything under the sun," Harry said in monotone as if by route. "I no longer bear the weight of the world on my shoulders. I cannot save everyone."

"That's right," Ginny continued sounding like her mother. "You would do well to remember that too."

Sirius released his godson and Harry grinned sheepishly at Ginny for a moment before his grin froze and his expression changed to one of contemplation. Sirius opened his mouth to ask what Harry was thinking about but Ginny made a motion with her hand, telling Sirius not to talk.

"I think you'd better leave Ginny."

Ginny looked at Harry shrewdly, "You won't be back here again will you?"

Harry held her eye and Sirius wondered if it was odd for Harry to make eye contact, if what had happened that day was prompted by eye contact.

"No Gin," Harry shook his head slightly, "not until I find Charlie. You can't know where I am or what I'm doing. I won't have you getting in trouble."

"Charlie is worth it," Ginny's eyes narrowed.

It was a battle of wills, both of them formidable, but Harry triumphed, "Sirius and I will be enough. You're needed elsewhere. Toby would not be pleased if you ran off with us, or ended up in Azkaban."

"That's low Harry Potter," Ginny hissed at him.

"Whatever it takes," Harry said coolly. "You can't come with us Ginny. You could lose your job or worse. I'm allowed to do whatever I want and no one would dare to take Sirius away from me again."

Sirius was both touched and amazed. Even with the magic inhibitor running through Harry, Sirius felt like he wouldn't want to cross the younger wizard. Ginny huffed and didn't say another word.

"Tell Dad there are Christmas presents in the Manor. Tawney knows where they're hidden," Harry said slowly, as if measuring his words.

Christmas was less than a week away. Sirius remembered that Christmas at Grimmauld Place with Harry, how happy Harry had been to have Christmas with family that cared about him. It must hurt him terribly to abandon his children on Christmas.

"Any other messages?" Ginny prompted with a soft, but urging tone.

"Just...," Harry paused and bit his lower lip. "Just tell them that Charlie and I love them and we'll be back as soon as we can."

Ginny nodded and hugged him, "Happy Christmas Harry." She hugged Sirius as well, "Happy Christmas."

She left and Sirius turned to Harry, "Now what?"

"Malfoy Manor," Harry said with a small sneer. "Draco is somehow mixed up in all of this and I want answers."

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	29. Chapter 29

**Chapter Twenty-Nine**

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Neville Longbottom was in the garden. This was not at all an unusual sight, as Neville spent the majority of his time among his plants. Anyone who knew him at Hogwarts could easily predict that Neville would spend his life in a greenhouse.

He carefully trimmed back the Devil's Snare, making sure not to cast too much of a shadow on the temperamental plant. Herbologists always kept the light up high when working with Devil's Snare to avoid strangulation or loss of limb.

After the remarkably high score on his Herbology O.W.L. Professor Sprout had offered Neville a chance to apprentice with her and start his work towards his Mastery. That combined with the battle at the Ministry had completely changed the opinion Neville's Gran had of him. She brought him to get a new wand and started praising him to all her friends rather than pursing her lips whenever he came up in conversation. It was a turning point in Neville's life, and that summer he had written with Luna and they started dating.

Like many purebloods of the times Neville had no financial reasons to search for employment. His greenhouses on the Longbottom Estate were seen as a hobby – an extensive and profitable hobby, but still a hobby.

After several wars and a stunning number of only children the majority of the pureblood families had only a solitary Heir or Head of the Family. The Longbottoms were no exception. As Frank Longbottom's brothers had both died before Frank even started Hogwarts, and there were no cousins, the entirety of the Longbottom inheritance fell to him and then to his only son upon his incapacitation. As of yet Neville and Luna had no children.

Wilhelmina Longbottom, Neville's Gran, had acted in his stead as Head of the Family until Neville had graduated from Hogwarts, and still took care of several responsibilities. Luckily, in Neville's eyes, the Longbottom Family had never been very involved in politics and was not expected to get involved. They were a background family like the Weasleys had once been, but more desired in social circles as they were much better off.

There were balls and a variety of other functions to attend and Neville did his duty in that respect. His grandmother belonged to several ladies organizations, one of which had been founded by Viviane Potter during the first rise of Voldemort.

It did not escape Neville's notice that the Potter, Black, and Snape Families were never in attendance at any of the events. Snape was excused quite readily. After all, the mere thought of Severus Snape in dress robes actually _dancing_ was enough to bring a smirk of amusement to the most stoic of faces. It was said that Dumbledore, and now McGonagall, had to threaten him to get him to attend formal Hogwarts functions.

And Harry... Harry was another story altogether. The-Boy-Who-Lived, Man-Who-Killed-You-Know-Who, whatever it was the _Prophet_ was calling him at the time, had well earned the right to completely avoid society if that was what he desired. Unfortunately, the _Prophet_ disagreed.

Neville may not have been the best student in Hogwarts history, but he was far more observant and intelligent than most thought. He had seen that in their last few years at Hogwarts there was much more wrong in Harry Potter's world than all but those closest to him were aware. Neville had heard Professor Snape say Harry was an Empath and he had seen Harry's reaction to Neville's father.

The Devil's Snare was trimmed and Neville moved to another section of his greenhouses, lowering the light to a level that the Snare thrived at before he left it. So many plants had so many different environmental needs that Neville had his greenhouses divided into more than fifteen climate zones. There was even one nearly as big as the Manor that he had built to grow tress that would otherwise not survive in Britain's climate.

He sold potions ingredients to apothecaries and had a special arrangement with Professor Sprout to provide plants in varying stages of maturity for the Hogwarts students. The arrangement he enjoyed the most though was with Anders Ollivander. Harry had seen Neville's trees, and the next thing Neville knew the old wand maker was at the door to the Manor, asking to see the trees.

At Ollivander's request Neville grew some specific trees. Every now and then a branch was trimmed off and crafted into a wand. What was more enjoyable was that Ollivander came by often just to talk to Neville and they would sit under the trees and discuss all sorts of magic. Ollivander had helped greatly with his project.

As Neville settled into a more tame section where he had several beds of seeds just sprouting he relaxed a bit. He could let his mind wander while he tended them, some needing a little water, others an adjustment in soil pH. He could let himself think about Harry, which in Neville's mind always led to thinking about his parents.

It still stung after so many years. For a moment Neville had been given hope again, but it only made everything worse when the hope was ripped away not moments later. Knowing that his parents were trapped inside their minds and that they wanted _out_ was both terrifying and thrilling.

Luna had hit upon the answer of course. Her view of the world was so unique, and she didn't bother hiding it, so most people thought she was crazy. She encouraged that and found it amusing most of the time, as did Neville, unless Luna got hurt.

He wondered sometimes how he managed to find such a wonderful woman, and she actually loved him. There had never been any doubt in Neville's mind about Luna once he got to know her, and he had doubted nearly everything in his life. With Luna though... plants relaxed in her presence, and that was all the endorsement Neville needed.

Gran had been skeptical at first, but Luna and her father had won over the formidable witch quickly.

After what had happened at Mungo's, Neville couldn't dream of asking Harry to repeat that experience, not even to try to help Neville's parents. Harry had sacrificed enough for the wizarding world and Neville would not ask him to sacrifice any further.

Oddly enough, Neville's first step in regaining the Family honor was the easiest. He had made it just in time to see Harry kill the Lestrange brothers in the Battle of Hogwarts. Ginny had told Neville and Luna all about Crouch Jr. impersonating Moody and getting the dementor's kiss. Harry fell under Belletrix Lestrange's curse then, the only one left of the group that had tortured his parents, and the same curse. She laughed over Harry's pain wracked body and the two deadly words had come to Neville's lips almost without thinking.

Taking the Slashing Hex for Harry had been a reflex action. Neville's work had finished for that day and it was Harry who had to remain functional. He guessed that Harry had sent him to Mungo's because that was where Neville's parents were. Madam Pomfrey had fixed the same curse on Hermione two years before.

The Healers had patched him up quickly as best they could. Some dark magic just had to heal slowly, and it took weeks for the cut to fully heal. As soon as Neville woke the next morning he went straight to his parents to tell them their torturers were all dead, the death of Voldemort of secondary importance. Neville had confidence in Harry, and expected that Voldemort was dead by then. It was the most satisfying conversation he had ever had with them.

"What are you thinking about Nev?" Luna's soft tones, a little less dreamy when it was only her and Neville, came without warning. She walked so quietly that she frequently surprised the other inhabitants of the Manor.

"My parents," Neville responded simply. There was no point in lying, or withholding, or even elaborating. Luna would always know.

She leaned down and kissed the top of his head, her mismatched earrings jangling, "It will work."

Luna always spoke with such assurance. Her odd, cryptic statements were less frequent, usually only appearing around people she didn't know well, and sometimes Neville thought it was an act she put on for them. But he also knew that, in direct opposition to how most people, like Hermione thought, Luna refused to _disbelieve_ in anything without proof of its _nonexistence_.

"Wilhelmina wanted me to remind you that dinner is in half an hour," Luna commented as she added a touch more water to one tray. It had taken some time for Neville's Gran to be comfortable with Luna addressing her like that.

In his grandmother's parlance that meant Neville better wash the dirt off his hands and change into clean robes. It _was_ Christmas Eve after all. With all the Longbottoms in residence, not that there were many of them left, he supposed he should be presentable.

Neville's plan should change everything though. He and Luna intended to return two more to the family table, and then they would start adding to the family. Neville's parents never got the chance to raise him, but he could make sure they were there for their grandchildren. He had seen Snape with Harry's children, and wanted to give his parents the same.

"Happy Christmas Gran," Neville, clean and neatly dressed in his nicest robes, kissed his grandmother on both cheeks. He made the rounds of all her brothers and her sister, kissed each papery elderly cheek.

He stood by the seat at the head of the table and waited for everyone to sit, Luna on his right and his grandmother on his left. He then took his seat and signaled for the house elves to begin serving. Luna's father had been invited, as he had been every year, but the Lovegoods did not celebrate Christmas the same way the rest of the wizarding world did, and Neville was still not sure exactly how they celebrated. Luna's explanation had been exceedingly vague.

"You don't have to visit tomorrow Neville," Gran said patiently as she had many times already on that subject. "You can wait until Boxing Day and your Uncle Algie and I can go with you."

Uncle Algie nodded from down the table and Neville nodded back, no longer the child that was dropped out the window to see if he had any magic. Sometimes he wondered what the family would have done if he hadn't bounced, if he had landed on his head.

"I will be fine Gran," Neville told her between spoonfuls of soup. "Luna will be with me."

Luna smiled, "Neville has seen Frank and Alice every Christmas Day. It would be impolite to put the visit off because of a little Ministry Ball."

Neville wanted to laugh at the scandalized look on his grandmother's face. It was yet another reason why he loved Luna. She was so good at dealing with his forceful Gran. Wilhelmina Longbottom just had no idea how to counter some of the things Luna said without sounding cold and unfeeling.

It wasn't a 'little Ministry Ball' really. The Ministry was having an Inaugural Ball for Minister Diggory on Christmas Day. It was perfect in so many ways. Neville had not wanted his Gran at the hospital with him when he put his work to the test but had not been able to think of a way to avoid it without getting her suspicious.

The Ball was perfect. Neville had begged off going because of his customary visit to his parents. As a result, his grandmother _had_ to attend so that someone represented the Longbottom Family.

Dinner passed as every formal dinner of the Longbottom Family did, mostly in silence. There was an occasional odd remark by Luna, and stifled snickers from Uncle Algie. Really there wasn't all that much to talk about. The only thing he was involved in that Neville would talk to his family about was his plants, and he recognized that were only so many lectures on cross-breeding magical plant species that his grandmother and her siblings could take.

But then, they could take even less of Luna and her father's theories. Gran's eyes would get misty, her lips would press together in a thin line, and her entire carriage would stiffen.

Gifts were opened in the morning, but not too early. There were no children in the house to jump on the beds and wake the adults long before the sun made an appearance in the sky and it would be at the very least nine months before any children called Longbottom Manor home once more. Neville had been broken of that Christmas morning habit early on. He planned to indulge his own children.

St. Mungo's Hospital was brightly decorated for the holiday. There were garlands of greens, holly, berries, but no mistletoe. The last thing the hospital needed was for healers being forced to stop in doorways before seeing to patients that needed them.

Neville didn't give the decorations a second glance, as his nervousness was making itself known. It was like potions class all over again, something Neville had been thankfully without since he was fifteen. While Professor Snape was not quite as intimidating as he had once been, Neville would rather battle a few Death Eaters all at once than take a potions class ever again.

"Good day Mr. Longbottom, Mrs. Longbottom," a passing healer spoke.

What with his parents permanently ensconced on the fourth floor and the majority of the Longbottoms getting on in years, complete with all the infirmities of old age, Neville's face was well known at Mungo's. After all, not every student at Hogwarts managed to be virtually adopted by Poppy Pomfrey, like Harry and Remus.

Luna guided him onto the lift and Neville tried to focus on what was coming. The mirrors around them reflected an unusual pair. Neville looked rather nondescript in his chocolate brown robes open over matching trousers and a deep golden hued shirt, while Luna would stand out anywhere in her closed paisley robes, the main colors of which were turquoise and bright purple.

The ward was looking oddly festive for a place that housed the comatose and permanently addled, though some would argue the latter. Lockhart was still there, deemed a danger to himself if released, unable to be self-reliant. Umbridge was gone, released a few years back but monitored constantly. Aurors watched her, as she was on probation because of her acts at Hogwarts. Fudge had turned on her once he saw it was politically expedient, and Neville had a suspicion that Harry had influenced that decision.

Luna chatted with a few of the patients and the healers as they walked to the far end of the ward where Neville's parents lived. Neville tended to be even quieter than usual when visiting his parents, so it was not seen as unusual.

Neville smiled gratefully at Luna as she closed the curtains, separating the Longbottoms from the rest of the wards, and cast a silencing charm.

After a deep breath Neville spoke, "Mum, Dad, I hope this helps. I'm sorry. _Legilimens!_"

His wand was pointed at his mother, and at first all he saw was vague images of her daily life at the hospital, healers and orderlies and nurses. There were scattered thoughts of other patients, her husband not recognized for what he was, nor was her son, nor her mother-in-law.

Through tears he could feel building in his eyes Neville dug deeper. Neville, Luna, and Ollivander had theorized he had to go back well over twenty years to when their minds were healthy in making any attempt to bring them back.

And suddenly he was there.

_"Neville!"_

His mother's voice shrieked out his name, her only thought during the torture was to save her son.

"Mum," Neville only vaguely heard himself whispering. He had never heard her voice like that before, so cognizant, so desperate.

Ashamed though he was, Neville had been slightly jealous of Harry when he heard what the dementors did to his friend. Neville had almost been tempted to find a dementor and see if it could let him hear his parents, no doubt in his mind that the night they were tortured was his worst memory. Why the Lestranges hadn't turned their wands on him too Neville would never know.

Cold air hit him, and Neville was still hearing the screams. He reacted automatically, ending his spell and casting another, _Expecto Patronum!_

Out of his wand leapt a buck with oddly small and twisted antlers as the wing of the hospital came back into focus. It was what he had first associated with Luna, her crumpled-horned snorcack. Neville had dreaded it being the vulture from his Gran's hat and was thankful when it was finally corporeal.

"Mr. Longbottom!"

Neville snapped his head around and his spell ended, but just as his patronus galloped into his mother and was absorbed. All three of them, Neville, Luna, and the healer who had snapped, stared.

"Screams... cold... I thought... dementor," Neville said between gasps of air. He was disoriented, confused.

"Neville?"

Two people sucked in large gasps of air and Luna blinked owlishly.

"Mum?"

"Nev?"

"Mum?"

A warm hand on Neville's arm brought him comfort and steadiness. He went to his mother's bed and sat on the side, taking her hands between his. She smiled at him, her eyes clear and free of confusion. Alice Longbottom blinked then, and her head turned slightly, and the vagueness returned. She patted Neville's hand, but said nothing.

Neville took a deep, steadying breath and stood, facing the healer, "I want all the paperwork I would need to sign to remove my parents from this facility."

"But Mr. Longbottom!" Healer Jacobs protested.

"They are going home," Neville said firmly, though he did not feel nearly as confident as he sounded. "I have done more for my mother in the past hour than anyone here has done in the past twenty years. Tueney!"

A house elf appeared on the ward, saw Frank and Alice Longbottom, and sniffed loudly, "Master Frank. Mistress Alice."

Neville put a hand on the elf's shoulder, "I am bringing them home Tueney. Prepare a room for them. They will need separate beds. There are to be no sharp objects in the room, no breakable objects, no fireplace, no closet, no bathtub."

The house elf nodded, "Yes Master Neville," and popped away.

Several other healers had joined them by then and Luna was holding an armful of rolls of parchment and reading them over. She occasionally held one out and pointed to a spot for Neville to sign or initial.

"I see you are determined in your course," Healer Whitby, the Chief Healer of the Hospital spoke. "It is of course your decision to direct the treatment for your parents."

"I am thankful for everything Mungo's has done for them," said Neville honestly, hoping to appease the Healers somewhat, "but I think it's time to try a different approach. I would appreciate a recommendation for a nurse or Healer I can hire to see to their medical needs at home."

"Mungo's will gladly provide a list for you, along with a copy of their records," Whitby told him, not unfeelingly.

"I'll go get authorization for a Portkey," Luna kissed Neville's cheek.

"That will be unnecessary Mrs. Longbottom," Whitby smiled at them. "As Chief Healer I can authorize Portkeys from this facility."

Neville smiled at Luna, who took out her wand and created a Portkey from a stuffed lion that sat on the windowsill between the beds of Alice and Frank Longbottom. Each of them took one his parent's hands and placed them on the Portkey, and they all disappeared from St. Mungo's.

What occupied Neville's mind as they traveled from Mungo's to Longbottom Manor was how he was going to tell his grandmother what he had done.

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	30. Chapter 30

**Chapter Thirty**

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Severus snapped out of sleep and grabbed for his wand. Next to him Remus stirred and blinked wearily. The small sound that woke him repeated and Severus looked towards the door.

"I don' feel good Granddad."

The tiny plaintive voice belonged to Carver and Severus relaxed his arm. Remus muttered and the lights turned on as Carver padded towards their bed, coughing. One look at the child was all Severus needed to diagnose the problem.

"Oh no."

"I'll check the other three."

Remus wrapped himself in a dressing gown and left the room. Severus just stared at his grandson for a moment and his eyes flicked to Remus, "Have you...?"

"No," Remus replied, "but don't worry about it. I can't get sick like that, remember? You?"

Severus nodded, "I was six."

Remus left the room swiftly and Carver started to rub at his arm, already red and scaly.

"Don't scratch," Severus admonished and Carver sniffled. He got out of bed and picked up the small child, knowing that none of them would be getting back to sleep that night. He tried to remember what the illness had been like for him but could only recall itching so badly he couldn't even think of anything else.

The protocol for a student with dragonpox flitted through his brain and Severus immediately knew it was not an option. Whenever Poppy diagnosed dragonpox the student was sent home as soon as possible or isolated in the hospital wing if that was not an option. Not only could the parents usually provide better care but the students wouldn't be able to focus on school at all.

In this case neither of those courses would be possible. Four small children (now that one had it the other three would doubtless start itching within days) could not be isolated in the hospital wing and they could not leave Hogwarts. Harry had brought them there for their safety, and not even the Burrow was safe enough.

"Kat's looking a little red," Remus came back in the room. "I let them sleep."

Severus nodded his agreement and continued to keep Carver's hands from scratching at his reddened skin. He carried the boy into the bathroom and balanced him on one hip while he pulled out his wand and flicked it to draw a bath. Remus was calling for a house elf in the other room. They would definitely be having breakfast in their quarters rather than the great hall.

Severus talked to Carver in a low soothing tone and slowly undressed the boy, trying not to aggravate the itching. Remus poked his head into the room and Severus sent for a numbing potion, which was poured into the bath, much to Carver's relief. In its diluted form it would just take the edge off the itching while not eliminating it altogether, allowing the dragonpox to run its course.

"We'll have to tell Poppy in the morning," Remus yawned and stretched. "It's good the castle is almost empty."

"Christmas," Severus said with a grimace he hid from Carver. He was not looking forward to the holiday for the first time in several years.

Ginny had delivered Harry's messages and the twins had clung to her, begging her not to leave. Ginny was still 'Aunt Ginny' to them but they were closer to her than their other aunts and uncles. Severus narrowed his eyes. Ginny had to have seen Harry, and she had delivered those messages before she came to tell him about the article in the _Prophet_.

He was both relieved and irritated. Black must have called on Ginny to help him with Harry after the incident, although why he chose her Severus could only guess at. Ginny, though, had more or less lied to his face. She could have told him exactly how Harry was faring after connecting with the elf trader. He had no doubt that she wouldn't have told him at all if the trader hadn't reported Harry to the Aurors.

Severus ran his hands over his face. There was really only one way Harry would be dealing with the situation. He would either be completely incapacitated, in which case Black would have brought him to Hogwarts, or he would be drugged.

"Cub?" Remus questioned, looking up from where he was kneeling next to the tub, running water over Carver's head to get the potion on his scalp and face.

Severus nodded, "Those two are the still the best chance he has." They had to be careful not to use names with Carver there, not to upset the boy. "One of them drugged and the other seriously out of practice with a spotty memory," Severus snorted. He looked down at his grandson and shook his head, "I don't want to find out how good a father I would have been."

"None of us do Severus," Remus smiled sadly, "not this way."

Warning bells went off in Severus's head. He didn't like how Remus worded that. "Not any other way now either... right?"

"Relax Sev," Remus looked mischievous. "I'm perfectly fine being Uncle Moony. I have no desire any longer to be a daddy."

Severus shook his head, "I'll get you for that one."

As predicted all four children came down with dragonpox within days. Randy and Kat, for some odd reason that Severus did not want to guess at, did not itch at all and had a grand time with their red scaly skin. Randy spent the whole time pretending he was a dragon, including insisting that he eat on the floor, as dragons do not sit in chairs.

Christmas was spent in their chambers, with Carver and Erica miserable and itchy. Carver's scales were already starting to flake away and there was constantly a house elf in the rooms cleaning up after the mess left behind. The Weasleys all descended on Hogwarts, determined to try and make up for Harry and Charlie's absence, though most of them had to make an appearance at the Ministry Ball.

There was also the added bonus of spreading the dragonpox infection amongst all the cousins. It was best to get the disease over with as early in childhood as possible. Parents had been known to hold Pox Parties for as many young children as they knew.

Severus had fetched several packages from the Manor, a wealth of Christmas gifts for the children, including the training broom that Carver had been anticipating for months and an identical one for Erica. Much of the joy was still missing from the day, along with the two (or three really) missing men.

By the time the students came back the four Potter children were no longer contagious and most of the itching was over. Kat still had scales and Erica and Randy were red, but that would be over soon enough, and Kat still wasn't itching. Poppy couldn't figure it out, but Severus refused to let her contact Mungo's for a specialist. It most likely had something to do with the dragon blood in Harry and whatever he had passed along to his children, even if dragonpox had no relation to dragons whatsoever, save for the scaly appearance.

It was almost strange eating in the great hall and seeing all the students. Severus and Remus hadn't left their quarters since the night Carver had woken them. They didn't want to risk passing along the dragonpox to anyone else in the school.

The full moon was only a few days after the students got back. Severus had been uneasy on the full moon for several months, ever since Remus and Severus started spending their nights in the same bed. He would have trouble sleeping, thoughts of Remus going through the pain of the transformation filling his head. True, he did make the potion each month that eased the pain somewhat, but Remus would not allow him in the Shrieking Shack with him.

That afternoon Molly had suggested that she spend the night, her motherly intuition serving her well. She told Severus to stalk the corridors, take away points from Gryffindor, and hand out detentions while she watched over their grandchildren. He took her up on the offer readily. The winter holiday had not been much of a holiday.

With the shared responsibility for the four children and their worry over Harry and Charlie (there hadn't been a word aside from the message through Ginny) the two of them were getting along much better than at any point in the past.

The conversation when Severus and Remus sat the children down and explained to them that Charlie was missing and Harry was out looking for him had been painful for everyone involved. Carver and Erica, both fully aware that their birth parents had been murdered, asked him nearly every day if their adoptive fathers were still alive.

Every day Severus, not knowing if it was the truth, told them that yes, Harry and Charlie were still alive. Surely if anything had happened they would know. Deep down somewhere Severus even believed. If something terrible happened they would eventually see a phoenix with one green feather on its hip. Harry would not leave them to wonder.

Luckily, Kat and Randy were far too young to truly understand, but they were perceptive and well aware that something was wrong. While Carver and Erica continually asked if Charlie and Harry were alive, Randy and Kat just asked when their Daddies were coming for them.

Severus had started training their Empathy, or more accurately training them to block their Empathy. In Hogwarts, with hundreds of people around them every day, and their Empathic talent growing, they had to learn to block for their own sanity. After all, neither four-year-old could turn into a phoenix when the emotions around them got overwhelming.

"Professor!"

The urgent yell broke Severus's train of thought. It was long past curfew. What was this girl doing not only out of her common room but purposefully attracting the attention of the professor who gave out the harshest punishments?

"You have ten seconds Miss Perks to explain to me exactly why you are not currently in your bed," Severus hissed at her, in perfect disciplinarian mode.

She nearly cowered before him, but sniffed and stood up straight... though there was a slight tremor. Her eyes were puffy as well, as if she had been crying, something Severus did _not_ want to be handling. All Slytherin students knew better than to come to their Head of House in tears.

"I – I think Professor Lupin is in trouble Sir."

Blood turned to ice in his veins. Severus felt himself growing angry, a state far beyond the irritation of catching a student out of bed. If this was some sort of sick joke the girl would be spending the remainder of her natural life in detention.

"Speak," he ordered through clenched teeth.

"My mum didn't want me to come back," Felicia Perks said all in a rush, wringing her hands nervously. She sounded desperate and pleading. "I told her Professor Lupin is safe, and he transforms in the Shack, and with your potion, and he would never hurt anyone, but she got this weird look on her face, and now I'm afraid she might try to hurt him!"

The girl was in tears by the time she finished so Severus restrained himself from screaming at her as he so very much desired. She was already punishing herself for her indiscretion, and she could not really be blamed for defending her professor.

"Back to your tower, and do not even contemplate leaving until breakfast," Severus pushed out past the cold rage. She began walking away, dejected, and some little part of him wakened years ago by Harry surfaced. "Twenty points to Hufflepuff for loyalty and bravery. Professor Lupin will be fine."

Perks turned and gave him a weak smile before hurrying off in the direction of Hufflepuff Tower, where her cousin, mother, aunt, and many others before her had resided.

The instant she turned away Severus began stalking towards the castle doors. He took out his Order phone and typed out a message, sending it to the entire Inner Circle.

_Torches and pitchforks time. Shrieking Shack. NOW. Serpent._

He stopped when he stepped outside, frozen for an instant. Severus wondered if Remus knew this would happen to him, but then decided it was impossible for either of them to know. There was no documentation on werewolf mates. The full moon felt energizing and Severus decided not to waste time thinking about it, but to just take advantage.

Knowing Remus was not only locked securely away, but also had his human mind, Severus froze the Whomping Willow and slipped into the passage under its branches. He didn't have time to wait for his colleagues.

It was worse now than ever before, each full moon. On the full moons before he actually became friends with Remus it was a reminder of that night he almost died. Now Remus was connected to him even if neither of them fully yet understood the bond they had. It was nothing like Harry and Charlie's bond, or the bond of any married couple he knew.

Severus had to focus. He came up through the trapdoor and gave the Shack a quick scan with his eyes and magically. No one had entered through the door that led to Hogsmeade. It had been years since the door had been opened. Remus was secure in his transformation room, probably sleeping. With luck he wouldn't even know what happened that night.

A howl pierced the night and something inside Severus was pulling him towards the howl, but he fought it, and all that time did not move from just next to the trapdoor, his feet planted to the floor. Severus mastered himself and forced himself to ignore the wolf just on the other side of a door.

He checked out the window and saw only the scraggly vegetation that grew in front of the Shack. The forest was ahead of him and to his left. Down the hill to the right was the torchlight from Hogsmeade. It was possible that no one would show up and Severus would spend the night standing outside looking like a fool with a bunch of annoyed Order members. His instincts told him otherwise though and Severus always trusted his instincts.

Outside the moon illuminated the land and Severus wished for just a few clouds. He had always been able to use the darkness as his friend, an ally. It wasn't Death Eaters he would be facing though, or Aurors, or anyone with battle experience. With any luck there would be several Aurors on _his_ side and not a single curse, hex, or jinx would be cast that night.

"Severus!" his name was hissed, whispered, from the shadow of some trees.

Severus knew the voice that called him and felt like cursing. Instead he made his way over to the trees and noticed that, thankfully, Tonks's hair was a dark brown that evening rather than a shining beacon of neon pink. At least the girl had some concept of stealth.

"What's going on Severus?" George Weasley questioned from behind the Auror.

"At least one parent has been notified of where Remus transforms," Severus told the two, "and the student believes that her mother was making some plans to take action against him."

It was unusual to see such a threatening look on a Weasley, "And you think it would happen tonight."

He nodded, "The parent would want to act quickly lest news leak out to us, as it did anyway."

"Right then," Tonks nodded and began speaking with an authority that had to come from her Auror training and experience, "if anything starts it will start in the Hog's Head or the Three Broomsticks. Trouble of this kind always originates in taverns. George, round up the Order members arriving and send them there to blend in. Send our Aurors to Severus and me."

George nodded, transformed into his animagus form, and ran off. Severus looked around the area and gave Tonks a sharp look, "Aurors in a perimeter and Order members within the crowd?"

Tonks nodded. She was dressed in her official Auror battle robes, lending authority to her presence, "Where will you be?"

"In plain sight, right outside the Shack," Severus fingered his wand, almost hoping that one of these foolish attackers would fire off a curse. He could use a good fight. "If I can't talk them out of it the Aurors can surround them."

The Auror shook her head, "You've got two big brass ones Severus, I'll give you that."

Severus snorted as he turned and headed to the Shack. He looked back into the woods and glared at where he knew Tonks was standing as he leaned casually against the door of the Shack. He glanced towards Hogsmeade periodically, but did not stare at the torches, seeking to preserve his night vision.

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	31. Chapter 31

**Chapter Thirty-One**

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He sniffed the air again.

There it was, the smell that overpowered everything else. The forest, the Shack, the small amount of his own blood from the transformation, none of them could compete with the scent of his mate.

Severus Snape was going to be in trouble.

He had sworn, promised Remus that he would not come to the Shack on the night of the full moon. Even more so after they bonded Remus did not want Severus there when he transformed. He did not want Severus to see him in pain like that.

Remus also did not want to find out the reaction of the wolf to the close proximity of his mate. The wolf was primal, purely animal, and Remus had no idea what he would do with Severus so close while he was in wolf form. Moony was fighting the Wolfsbane Potion for control, but Remus was stronger. He had remained in control for over four hundred full moons.

He threw his head back and howled.

If Padfoot was there he would know what that howl was. The wolf was calling out to his mate, who was so very close. Remus wanted Severus there, the _wolf_ wanted Severus there. The only problem was that Remus did not know what the wolf would do. He was desperately afraid that the wolf would want to bite Severus, to turn him so they would share the transformations each month. Remus would not allow that to happen.

Severus's scent moved away then, going out the front door of the Shack, and Remus wondered what was going on. If Severus had broken his vow and entered the Shack why had he stayed away from the transform room? Moony had called to him, but Severus still stayed away. Remus was confused.

While Remus had his human mind in wolf form, he was not fully human. It wasn't quite like an animagus, which had animal instincts with human reasoning. A werewolf was in constant battle for dominance. Without the Wolfsbane Potion the wolf won automatically, the pain of the transformation pushing the human mind deep into submission. With the Wolfsbane Potion Remus was able to keep his mind, but the wolf was still there, like another presence in his head.

Something around him changed. With his keen senses, even sharper in wolf form than in human form, he would have known if it was a scent (Severus's still lingered), or the light, or a new sound, and it was none of these. It was something intangible, something the wizard inside him identified in a broad sense as Hogwarts. She was up to something.

Wards were adjusting, and there was what felt like yet another presence in Moony, a calming, soothing, and very feminine sense. Hogwarts was soft and warm as she began to fill Remus's mind with all sorts of images. He saw an argument in the Three Broomsticks with wands brandished. He saw Severus standing outside the Shack, his posture one of relaxation but his body language showing he was tensed to move in any direction at a moment's notice.

_"I – I think Professor Lupin is in trouble Sir."_

Remus saw the entire conversation between the young Hufflepuff girl and Severus. He watched Severus's reactions and knew why Severus had broken his vow and was standing outside the Shack on the night of the full moon, preparing for a fight.

His vision shifted and Remus watched through the castle's eyes as small points of light began to move from the two pubs in the village up the road that led only to the Shack, the Forbidden Forest, and whatever lay beyond. There could only be one reason for a mob, for there was no other description for that grouping of people, to be carrying torches along that road late on the night of a full moon.

Fear gripped his stomach, and was settled by Hogwarts as soon as it appeared. She would let Severus try to diffuse the crowd first, but would not allow any harm to come to Moony.

Severus stepped away from his reclining spot and held his wand at his side as the points of light formed more clearly into flickering torches and the light made it possible to see somewhere around three dozen angry wizards and witches.

"No farm implements," Severus commented under his breath.

Several faces in the crowd were easily identifiable as Order members, and they all gave a quick wink or some other such signal to let Severus know he had friends there. Moony, his nerves calm thanks to the castle, gave a little chuckle at the thought of Severus Snape having friends. He would probably adamantly deny the fact that anyone apart from Remus and Minerva were friends, the Weasleys counting as family thanks to Harry.

"You will not take one step further," Severus's voice rang out authoritatively, his wand still down.

"Our children won't be taught by a monster!" an anonymous voice yelled from the sea of faces.

Severus sneered, "There are no monsters here."

"You're protecting it!"

"Death Eater scum!"

"Dark bastard!"

A curse was fired off, and before Severus's considerable reflexes had a chance to react a shining white shield shot up from the ground and separated him from the crowd. The curse was absorbed and Severus smirked as the crowd gaped.

"There are no monsters here," Severus spoke calmly as the shine faded to a faint shimmer, letting all know the shield was still there but not blinding them with its brilliance. "Hogwarts would not allow it."

Remus noted that Severus did argue either the claim that he was a Death Eater or dark. They would have to have a talk sometime soon. He had thought that Severus had worked through the guilt from those days, even if a reminder remained on his left forearm.

"We can't allow a dark creature to live in the castle!"

"Oh?" Severus's face then took on the 'about-to-torture-potions-students' expression and a good half of the crowd flinched, even including a few Order members, having been in his classes. "That was Mr. Westrum who spoke if I am not mistaken. You took your N.E.W.T.s in '82 I believe and scored dismally on the Defense Against the Dark Arts exam. Tell me, Mr. Westrum, what is a dark creature?"

There were a few snickers in the crowd, and Remus knew they had been more or less diffused. Now that they knew Severus had identified most of them they were less likely to start any violence. It was possible that a few remembered what they were up against, perhaps after yelling out Severus's former alliance.

Paul Westrum went red in the face, accentuated by the torch he carried, and spluttered a bit.

"Do speak up Mr. Westrum," Severus scolded, his cold, wicked smile spreading across his face. "I am sure the Aurors surrounding you at this moment will be able to correct you if you err."

"Aurors?"

The crowd shrank in on itself, none of them wanting to be on the outer edge and vulnerable. Tonks stepped into sight then, followed by the youngest Weasley and a few others, all with their wands out and trained on the crowd.

"Miss Weasley," Severus changed the focus of the crowd. "You scored an Outstanding on your Defense N.E.W.T. Perhaps you can educate the mob."

"Of course Severus," Ginny Weasley grinned and walked casually towards him, the ward doing nothing to hinder her progress. "Hey Fred, Angelina!"

"Gin-gin!" Fred Weasley called out from the crowd, and they all turned to see that there were several in their midst who were known friends of Remus Lupin. "My favorite little sister!"

George Weasley and Filius Flitwick chose that moment to step out from the crowd and join the Aurors, and Hagrid emerged from the Forest with Fang at his side. Ginny smiled indulgently at her brother.

"Currently, the Ministry classifies dark creatures as 'those nonhumans of the magical variety that have attacked wizardkind'. The noted distinctions there are that the creature in question must be magical, must be nonhuman, and must have attacked a magical human." Ginny lectured as well as any Professor. "You may see that the most important thing to note is that the creature must be _nonhuman_, otherwise wizards and witches would be classified as dark creatures seeing as we attack one another quite frequently."

Hagrid snorted and more than one pair of eyes looked at him fearfully. He really was intimidating, especially now that he was allowed the use of a wand again. Ollivander had crafted a new wand as close to the original as possible and Hagrid was slowly learning all he should have at Hogwarts. He was set to take the O.W.L.s over the Easter Holiday.

Hogwarts left Remus's mind and he saw the inside of his transformation room again, not hearing what was going on outside. The air in the Shack shifted slightly and Moony heard several clicks before the door to his room swung open. He froze, wondering if someone had made it past Severus, but the air behind him gave him a gentle push.

One paw after another Moony slowly padded out of the room. Walking downstairs on four legs was difficult, especially when determined to move cautiously. Hogwarts kept directing him onwards though, and the front door opened of its own accord well before he reached it.

Moony saw every head swivel and stare at the open doorway. He cringed, but Hogwarts urged him forward. Low to the ground, Moony slunk out of the Shack, the first time he felt open air as a wolf since his days as a student at Hogwarts.

Wands pointed in his direction and he looked at Severus and whimpered slightly. What he wouldn't give for Padfoot just then, or a human voice box and vocal cords.

George transformed and the weasel ran over to him, chattering about how foolish humans were, and couldn't they see the wolf is safe? Moony shook his head and would have rolled his eyes if it was possible in wolf form, but he did stand a little straighter.

Tense, ready to run at a moment's notice, Moony walked over to Severus. He had never been able to compare his size to that of a human before. The other Marauders had told him the wolf was large, but he did not know his head would be above Severus's waist.

He licked Severus's hand and nudged it, a thrill shooting through him at the taste of his mate. Long fingers started to massage him behind his ears, running luxuriously through his fur. If he was a cat he would purr, but he had to settle for a doggy grin.

Moony let his whole body lean against Severus and felt Severus shift his stance to compensate for the added weight against him. Remus decided then that Severus had to become an animagus. He didn't want to pass another night without his mate ever again.

"Is... is that...?"

Angelina Weasley (nee Johnson) stepped out of the crowd and knelt before Moony with true Gryffindor courage and boldness, "Hi Professor Lupin. May I?"

Moony ducked his head and she held out her hand to his nose. He sniffed and nudged her and she began to pet him. He had two human hands smoothing his fur and scratching his skin, then three, the sensations heavenly. For the first time Moony was actually _enjoying_ the full moon and Remus would remember it.

"I've always wanted to do this," Angelina flashed a grin back into the crowd, "ever since he taught in my fifth year."

Severus glared at the mob and several of them had the sense to look mildly ashamed, "Return to your homes, and be glad that you did not make an irreversible mistake."

At that they dispersed and most began wandering back towards the village in smaller groups.

"Mrs. Perks," Severus called out and a woman just slightly younger than them stopped and turned. "Your daughter Felicia is quite upset this evening. It may take you some time to earn her trust back. You may begin the process with a formal apology."

His voice had been stern and cold and the woman paled before hurrying away. Severus was tense and Moony nuzzled him, trying to soothe his mate. He had not been hurt, or even been placed in much danger. Severus and Hogwarts and the Order had been there to protect him where Moony would not. Remus would not allow it.

Severus dropped to his knees then and held Moony tightly against his chest. Angelina backed up respectfully and Fred hugged her, whispering something in her ear that Moony could have heard if he had wanted to. His concentration was on Severus though, on his mate.

Remus was overjoyed that he had no urge to bite, no desire to turn Severus, or do anything unspeakable as a wolf. He nuzzled his face in Severus's hair, content in his mate's arms and scent. Moony had never been happier. Even the wolf was subdued.

"You two will be okay then?" Filius asked for all the Order members standing there.

Moony turned to look at the Charms Professor and nodded, as he couldn't actually answer. With the loosening of Severus's tension had come the release of his worry and Remus knew that Severus would not want any of them to see the few tears that escaped.

Most of the Order headed back towards the castle, as they could leave more quickly through the fireplaces. None of them were familiar with the passage under the Shack, so they followed Hagrid through a short Forest path.

"I cannot tell you how happy I am for you both."

The wolf's head whipped to find the being that had remained behind without his knowledge as Severus stiffened once more and lifted his head. He saw Joseph emerge from a shadow and smile.

"Joseph," Severus stood and bowed in greeting.

"Severus," Joseph returned the bow. "Davey informed me of the situation. I was pleased to see you had things well in hand. Take care of my child for me."

"I will," Severus replied.

Joseph gave Moony a strong hug and kiss on the forehead before running off with a speed that no human could match, or even see.

Moony took hold of Severus's robe in his mouth and led him back towards the Shack. As much as Moony loved the outside air and smells and the freedom of all that space, Remus would never fully trust the wolf. Finally inside again Moony released Severus and went to his transformation room.

Severus followed of course, but Moony nosed the door closed. He would not endanger anyone further, and would not transform in front of his mate.

"Remus," Severus pleaded from the other side of the door, actually lowered himself to pleading.

There was no answer of course, as Moony could not answer. In compliance with Remus's wishes though, Hogwarts began replacing the wards on the rooms. Remus thought she also managed to convey a message to Severus, who as Deputy Headmaster was connected to the castle.

No matter how many advancements Severus made in his potions, the transformation was still painful. Remus was breathing heavily, covered in sweat, bruises, and small cuts when it was done. He no longer clawed his skin apart or bit himself, but nothing could change the fact that his bones broke and muscles tore apart every month.

He could smell another entering his room, Hogwarts having released the wards once Remus transformed.

"Severus," Remus choked out.

Severus got down on his knees and opened the lockbox in the room, removing several vials of potion. He held them to Remus's mouth one by one, finishing with a cleaning charm, and almost entirely eradicating any traces of the transformation.

Remus was only slightly stiff as he raised himself from the wooden floor. He looked up into Severus's dark eyes and tried to read what was there.

"I almost lost you," Severus whispered. Remus knew he was thinking not only of Remus, but Harry as well. For all they knew Charlie and Sirius were dead and Harry gone forever.

"No," Remus reassured him, speaking in his quiet assurance as always, "you didn't. You were there to protect me, as was Hogwarts, and Joseph, and the Order. I was never in danger."

Severus pulled them both to their feet and hugged Remus tightly. Remus replied in kind, ignoring the fact that he was naked and Severus was covered from the neck down in multiple layers of cloth.

Just slightly taller than Severus, Remus tipped his head down to whisper in his mate's ear, "You will not lose me Severus. I will take that damn Elixir again if I have to, but you will not lose me."

It was almost so quick that Remus didn't notice the movement. Severus's mouth covered his in a passionate, possessive kiss. Hands were all over him, feeling incredible as they kneaded his abused muscles. Severus backed him onto the bed and for the first time Remus let Severus take complete control.

The wolf tended to be domineering, especially in situations that involved intense emotion, which perfectly described anytime Remus shared a bed with someone, his mate especially.

After the revelations of last night, Remus found himself able to fight back the wolf and control it, letting Severus reassure himself as he needed to. He looked up into coal black eyes and summoned his wand from the open lockbox, one of the only bits of wandless magic he could reliably manage. Remus swished and Severus's clothing disappeared.

Severus stared into his eyes and Remus could practically feel the heat in his gaze. He grinned at his mate and mouthed the words, 'Love you.'

Severus kissed him hard and pressed his body down, such heat despite the cold air. The kiss ended and Severus breathed into Remus's ear, hot breath, "I love you too Wolf."

The first potions class of the day would have to be cancelled.

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	32. Chapter 32

**Chapter Thirty-Two**

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Malfoy Manor loomed above them, intimidating, powerful, impenetrable to attacks both physical and magical. It was a fortress built before even Potter Manor, one of the very first constructed by the magical families that made the British Isles their home. Had Lucius Malfoy not died in the Battle of Hogwarts it would have taken several teams of Aurors to extract him from his home.

Of course, the Manor would have been much more imposing if the two men staring at it could get within two hundred yards of the stone structure. They stood at the base of the hill that the Manor rested upon. The building could easily be classified as ancient, and would astound muggle students of architecture and antiquities if they could see it. It even had a functioning moat.

On the other side of the moat from the Manor one of the two men sat down. They could not cross. They had fired a number of spells, several of which had been reflected back on them. After several reflected curses they stopped, not willing to cast any spells that might cause grave injuries upon reflection.

"Can't you just... you know... fire apparate us over there?" The man that was still standing gestured vaguely towards the house.

The man sitting down looked up at his companion and cocked an eyebrow, "What is it about magic suppressing potion that you do not understand?"

"But it's your other form," the older of the two scrunched up his face. "I mean, even _Peter_ managed it, and he was no Merlin."

There was a deep sigh from the younger, smaller man. He took a vial out of one of many pockets in his robes and held it aloft. It glimmered in the twilight, "This potion renders the most powerful of the prisoners currently ensconced in Azkaban a squib. I am reduced to a middling or low level. I would not win a duel against my father. Filius would make short work of me. Remus could have me for breakfast and comfortably take on the Weasley twins after.

"I dare not transform. In my current state I have no idea what would happen and now is not the time to experiment. We can't exactly contact Minerva and have her reverse whatever I might manage to do to myself. Besides which, I may not actually be an animagus. We don't know," he looked at his watch and drank the potion in his hand.

The taller man frowned, "What about when Hermione went into labor?"

"The version I took then was diluted somewhat," Harry stood, brushed himself off, and looked at his godfather, keeping his facial expressions blank. "Charlie was there remember. I only needed a little something to help what he does for me."

Sirius nodded and started to pace a bit, "Then how do you know how bad you are now?"

Harry wondered if he was going to have to lecture on magical theory with his godfather, "I can still see it Siri. That's a talent that is completely independent of power levels. When I was an infant I could see magic more clearly than anyone else. I just didn't know that what I saw was different. It took actually focusing my concentration to develop the sight I have now. It wasn't until I perfected Occlumency and moved onto Legilimency that I was able to focus on seeing magic itself."

Sirius looked intrigued, but it wasn't time for an in depth discussion on anything but how to get into Malfoy Manor, "So you can see which wards are keeping us out."

He nodded, "Yep. I could detail them for you, but it's unnecessary. I've already tried the counters, tried to unweave them, and you've done the same. If Remus was with us..."

"He's always been amazing with wards," Sirius remembered watching Remus interpret and adjust the wards surrounding a Death Eater stronghold during the first war. It had been an impressive sight and that was over twenty years in the past.

"So we're stuck again?"

"Not necessarily."

"Huh?"

"Just shut up for a second Siri and let me concentrate." Harry was smirking lightly, knowing it was driving his godfather nuts to just stand there, useless, with no idea of what Harry was doing. It was much harder under the effects of the Raivannin, but Harry managed to locate that part of him that was linked to the help he needed. He spoke softly, but with conviction, "Harry Potter needs Dobby!"

There were a few moments of silence and then a _pop_, and Dobby the house elf appeared and threw his arms around Harry's legs. Harry lightly rested one hand on the top of Dobby's head, as if in benediction.

"What has Harry Potter done?" Dobby's tennis ball eyes were bright and moist as if he might start crying any moment, his tone that of horror. "Harry Potter has dimmed himself."

The statement took Harry aback. He had told himself many times that it would be worthwhile to study house elf magic and discover exactly what they could do and how they knew certain things, but he had never explored that subject. Sirius was staring with open fascination.

"Harry Potter needed to dim himself Dobby," Harry explained, feeling awkward talking about himself in the third person, but naturally slipping into that manner of speech around Dobby.

Dobby was nodding though, "Harry Potter's Wheezy is missing." It brought Harry back to his fourth year and he smiled at the elf. Dobby's voice dropped to a whisper, "Bad wizards has Wheezy."

It was Harry's eyes that widened then, "Does Dobby know where Charlie is?"

"No," Dobby responded, twisting his ears and sniffling, "Dobby is not knowing where Wheezy is or who bad wizards are. Dobby is hearing from Smelly Snape that Wheezy is missing and Harry Potter is being sad."

Harry swallowed back the tears that threatened. For just a moment he had hoped... but he couldn't dwell on that. He knelt down to look Dobby in the eye.

"I need your help Dobby. Will you help me?" Harry asked seriously.

Dobby's eyes started leaking tears, "Dobby will help. Dobby is doing anything he can for Harry Potter!"

"I need to get inside Malfoy Manor," Harry told Dobby and motioned towards the Manor. Dobby shook just slightly, the knitted hats he still wore threatening to tip and fall to the ground, but nodded his head. "There might be something in the Manor that would tell me where Charlie is."

"Dobby will take Harry Potter and his doggy inside the Manor," Dobby held up his hand and Sirius was dragged across the ground to stand right next to Harry and Dobby, looking only mildly insulted.

The house elf took held of both of them and the grounds of Malfoy Manor winked out. Traveling by house elf was even stranger than traveling by phoenix. It was disorienting and for moments afterwards it was like the brain had been scrambled.

Harry shook his head to get rid of the foggy feeling and saw Sirius doing the same, "Dobby, please go talk to the house elves and find out where Draco is and how long he's been gone... Anna and the girls as well."

"Dobby is going Harry Potter!" Dobby hugged Harry then disappeared.

"What...," Sirius seemed unable to fully formulate his question.

"Dobby is not bound in the traditional house elf manner," Harry explained, carefully looking around the foyer of the Manor. He had been inside once before, but hadn't the time then to study the magic imbued in the house.

"I remember something... you freed him, and Dumbledore hired him," Sirius looked annoyed with himself, with his spotty memory.

Harry nodded. He noticed that the statues in the foyer were different than the last time he had been there.

"He's a bit of a wild card. No one knows exactly what he'll do, or what he _can_ do, as he's not bound to a family or business," Harry ran his hands over the walls, feeling the magic. Every ward that the Manor had was activated to the fullest extent. The Manor was in wartime mode for some reason, just as Potter Manor was. Harry doubted it was a coincidence. "He was loyal to Dumbledore and he's loyal to me, but by choice rather than magic forcing his allegiance. Albus claimed he was more powerful than an ordinary elf as a result. He unnerves other elves, scares them a bit."

"He unnerves me," Sirius admitted freely. "What are we doing?"

"I'm trying to figure out how long the Manor has been empty," Harry said as he immersed himself in the magic. He might not be able to cast a powerful spell or duel very well or apparate from London to Buenos Aires and back again, but his knowledge and memories of his experiences were not diminished. "It's been weeks at least since any human magic was used in this building."

Sirius whistled, "So the Malfoys are wrapped up in this... figures."

Harry glared for a moment, "And all Blacks are evil dark bastards, all Snapes too, and every Gryffindor ever sorted is a saint."

"Are you actually _friends_ with Draco Malfoy?" Sirius questioned impatiently, ignoring that sarcasm from Harry. "I thought you hated him!"

"He's my business partner and political ally, but no we are not friends," Harry ground out, plain sick of that question. At least one Weasley asked him once a year, thinking the answer might change perhaps. "There's too much history between us, too much animosity, and he's still a spoiled brat much of the time. I'm not all that fond of his wife either, though we get along well enough."

"So I take it your children don't play together," Sirius grinned.

Harry snorted but didn't dignify the question with an answer. He wondered if Sirius would ever stop joking, and decided he didn't want to find himself in a situation where that happened.

"Harry Potter sir!" Dobby popped back into the foyer and looked like he was about to start hitting himself over the head with one of the statues.

Harry immediately knelt down and took both of Dobby's arms in his hands, "Just tell me what you found out and don't worry about it upsetting me."

"There is no house elves Harry Potter," Dobby twitched a bit, like he wanted to wring his ears or his hands, or one of his other nervous gestures, but Harry wasn't letting him. "There is no owls, no living things."

"Hm," Harry felt his eyes close partway as he thought hard. There were always owls at Malfoy Manor ready to send an important missive. There were always servants to prepare the house for some illustrious guest or the return of the Master. "Do not punish yourself Dobby. You have done nothing wrong."

Harry released the elf who bobbed on his feet and wrung his hands, looking worried, his habits from the times the Malfoys owned him enhanced by being in the Manor. Harry glanced up at his godfather, whose eyebrows were knit in thought.

"This is weird," Sirius proclaimed. "Purebloods never empty a property, and certainly not the Manor house, my insane family an exception of course."

He made his decision, "Dobby, take Sirius to Draco's study. Help him go over the papers there and try to find out what's going on. I need to check over the house and then I'll be in the library." Harry looked his godfather in the eye, "Be careful. Check for Portkeys, curses, anything you might expect from a Malfoy."

"Right," Sirius nodded, "deadly hexes should anyone not of Malfoy blood touch a thing."

Dobby and Sirius disappeared and Harry refrained from rolling his eyes. He didn't expect Draco would go to that extreme, but he wouldn't put it past him to make someone extremely uncomfortable if they started nosing into his business. There was also no knowing what Lucius Malfoy and his predecessors had left behind.

Harry's first stop was the main fireplace of the house. He needed some information that only a few people could provide for him, only a few still alive and willing to provide it. It was a short list, and Harry went through it in his head. He had lost track of most of his classmates, not bothering to find out what they did with themselves or where they ended up, but he knew about a few. Some in particular he knew because Draco mentioned them on occasion.

"Zabini Villa!" Harry said clearly as he threw a handful of Floo powder into the fireplace after checking it for traps. His head spun, separated from his body, and threatened to make him nauseas.

"For whom are you calling?" a house elf asked in Italian.

Harry praised his fellow dragon keepers for giving him a working knowledge of several languages. He didn't need to know what the elf said, as it was the same question any house elf asked when an unfamiliar head appeared in a fireplace, "Blaise Zabini please, Harry Potter calling."

The elf went away and moments later Blaise Zabini, five years older and about twenty pounds heavier, none of it muscle, than when Harry had last seen him, came into sight, "Harry! Why in Merlin's name are you calling me from Malfoy Manor?"

Harry raised his eyebrows but didn't bother asking how Blaise knew that. There were dozens of spells that could be used to trace a Floo call, "I have a question for you Blaise."

Blaise nodded and sat down on a low sofa in front of the fire. He wore rich robes, the result of an arranged marriage to a wealthy Italian heiress.

"Think back to fourth year Blaise," Harry advised before asking his question. The answer wouldn't solidly prove his theory but it would help. "Did Draco manage to throw off the Imperious Curse in class?"

Blaise's eyes narrowed, "He's not there, is he?"

"No," Harry shook his head. "No one has been here for weeks, and that includes elves and owls."

"Vlamenos!" Blaise swore in Greek.

"Language Blaise," Harry said, and then firmly, "Has he been in contact with you?"

"No," Blaise said with his eyes narrowed. "The fool missed a dinner engagement and hasn't responded to my owl. I thought he was just being a prick, like usual, but now I'm not sure."

"Fourth year?" Harry reminded Blaise of the purpose of his call.

Blaise shook his head, "You're the only one in our year that managed it. I have no idea if he got better at resisting but I doubt it."

If Blaise had reasoning behind his statement he did not share it. Harry took it at face value, and hoped he was correct. He was not friends with Draco, as he told everyone who asked him, but he had thought they were no longer enemies. His senses told him he could not have been fooled all those years, could not have mistaken the emotions of someone he spent a great deal of time with.

"Harry," Blaise broke his thoughts. "I heard something about you getting into trouble with the Aurors. What's that?"

"Hm?" Harry thought for a moment, and remembered the only thing that could have prompted that rumor. Ginny wouldn't have told anyone, but that elf trader may have. "It's nothing Blaise, just a misunderstanding that I don't have time to correct just now. Take care."

"Call again sometime Harry," Blaise smiled then, a genuine smile, "or actually stop by and meet my wife."

"We'll see," Harry allowed and pulled his head out of the fire, closing and sealing the Floo connection as he did. He didn't want anyone trying to come into the Manor that way.

Harry wandered around the Manor and thought about what he'd learned. If Draco was involved, willingly or unwillingly, he could have easily lured Charlie away from Romania and into a trap. All he would have had to say is he wanted to talk to Charlie about Harry, and not over a Floo connection. Charlie would have been at the Manor as quickly as he could. Harry could practically recreate the conversation between the two in his mind. He knew how he would do it if he were Draco.

So he had to see if he could find traces of Charlie's magic but Draco would have disarmed him before he could cast so much as a cleaning spell to make sure he didn't leave such an obvious trace for Harry. The only reason the Manor would be empty would be to minimize sources of information.

He didn't dare call Draco's Order phone. He couldn't tip off the blond that he knew something.

There wasn't any trace of the magic that was uniquely Charlie's, but that only meant he hadn't cast any spells in the Manor. His presence alone wouldn't leave enough of a residue to show up weeks later.

Harry searched the living wing of the Manor carefully. Clothing, toys, both were missing for all the children and Anna. They had packed their things away and left without any attempt to hide the fact. Wherever they went, it had been planned and would not be unusual, so they were probably with family somewhere, either Narcissa or Anna's parents. After all, Anna _was_ pregnant.

He ended his stroll through the Manor in the library, having found not a single trace of Charlie. Harry half closed his eyes and focused on Draco's magic. The blond was lazy enough that he would sit in a chair and summon the books he wanted. Harry found all the books that had the strongest residue of Draco's magic and pulled them down from the shelves manually, so as not to contaminate them with his own magical residue.

He buried himself in thick texts, many of which were dark enough that they would interest the Ministry in a way Draco would not enjoy. Harry smirked a little, not at all surprised. Draco had handed over the vast majority of dark artifacts to Moody and Tonks, assuring that the Manor would not be searched and he could keep those few dark belongings he treasured, mostly books.

He was reading the history of Ancient Babylon, which differed highly from what little he knew from his muggle education. Muggles didn't actually know if Babylon had existed in the way they thought it had, and from what Harry read that was the result of mass memory charms, not yet perfected in ancient times, and so varying in effectiveness. The Fall of Babylon had been the result of a massive magical accident, a misuse of power on a cataclysmic scale.

There were some other books on ancient artifacts, on necromancy, and Harry felt ill just handling some of them. He pushed that aside and tried to identify the thought niggling at his brain.

Harry gasped. The darkness had been distracting him, much like the darkness of the stone, and that was how he made his link. It all had to be connected, he knew it did. He started leafing through books more quickly, looking particularly for little spots of magic that Hermione called magical bookmarks, a quick spell that marked pages to react to the caster's magic and open straight to the pages needed when the accompanying spell was cast.

Draco's marks showed he was researching the Fall of Babylon, in particular the magic itself that had caused the Fall. It had taken, according to what was written, a team of fifty wizards working in concert and combining their magic to stop the domino effect of the magic that destroyed the ancient city.

Harry closed the book and rubbed his temples, his eyes shut tightly. Davey had found the stone in modern day Iraq, on the site that muggles claimed was once ancient Babylon. He opened the books again and started to search for exactly what the magic had been that was misused.

"Cub?"

His head jerked up. Sirius was standing in the doorway, looking concerned. Harry looked around and saw that books were strewn about haphazardly, with Harry in the center of quite a mess. He had no idea how long he had been there reading.

"I need my wand," Harry said softly. He could still cast emotion based spells wandlessly but would need the added focus and power from using a wand.

"Anna and the children are with Narcissa in France," Sirius told him and Harry nodded. He had figured as much. "There were letters left behind that she had written to Draco."

"I suspect that Charlie is there as well," Harry said slowly.

Sirius's eyes lit up, "Then let's go get him!"

"We can't," Harry made the most difficult decision of his life. "The moment we show up there we tip our hand. I have no idea what we'll set in motion, and I need more information before we act."

"Harry?" Sirius was utterly confused.

"Charlie was taken to keep me distracted," Harry said tightly, hating himself for what he was going to say. "They'll keep him alive and relatively unhurt, knowing that the instant he dies I'll hunt them down and not rest until they're dead, and stop whatever it is they are attempting. We have to find out what it is they don't want me getting involved in, and then we can go get Charlie."

"So what do we do?" Sirius questioned him.

"Research," Harry almost laughed at the crestfallen look on Sirius's face. "We have to get to Alexandria, to the Louvre, to Vatican City, all the ancient repositories, and we have to travel like muggles."

"How will we do that?" Sirius didn't bother asking why. Apparating could be tracked, as could Portkeys. That was how Moody caught Sirius the day after the Potters died.

Harry gnawed his lower lip, "We'll need to visit someone, but first we go to Potter Manor. I need my wand and we need muggle clothes. We also need our credentials."

"Huh?" Sirius was confused again.

"Not just anyone can walk into these libraries Siri," Harry was planning several steps ahead, organizing in his mind like Hermione had tried to teach him so many times. "You'd be amazed at what an Order of Merlin, First Class can do for you."

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	33. Chapter 33

**Chapter Thirty-Three**

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Dobby appeared in Severus Snape and Remus Lupin's quarters without being summoned. That alone was unusual. It was also late at night, when everyone in the rooms was usually sleeping, which made the elf's appearance even odder. He placed several pieces of folded parchment on the breakfast table before disappearing, never alerting any of the occupants to his presence.

Severus woke up and stretched. He licked his lips to return moisture to them and ran his tongue over his teeth to feel the early morning film on them. It would be gone in moments, and by the time Severus was out of the shower Remus would be awake and have tea waiting for him. Remus would shower while the tea woke Severus and Severus woke his grandchildren.

A routine between them had been established so quickly it was amazing. It had only needed a slight adjustment for the presence of four children. They always breakfasted in their quarters, as the less time the children spent in the great hall the safer they would be.

That morning the routine differed, something Severus did not like. As a spy he knew the innate danger of routine, but as an orderly, nearly obsessively so, person he thrived on knowing exactly what would happen when.

So when he got out of the shower, dressed, and found Remus sitting at the table in the small kitchen in their quarters, a thick sheaf of parchment in his hands and no tea in sight, Severus was instantly worried.

"What is it?"

Remus looked up sharply, and Severus saw a mixture of pain and dread. The werewolf held up the parchment, "Harry wrote."

"And?" Severus strode over to the table quickly, demanding to know the situation with his son.

"He knows where Charlie is and has demanded we stop looking for him," Remus said stiffly. "He's explained everything. It's worse than we thought if he's right."

"When hasn't he been right?" Severus snorted and reached for the papers, an ill feeling of foreboding entering his mind.

"His fifth year," Remus said quietly, almost too quietly to hear.

"And that was not his fault," Severus at least felt he had made up for that horrendous year. Through his abusive behavior he had helped lead to the events that caused Black to fall through the veil. By retrieving him Severus gave back to Harry that which he helped take away.

"Nor was it yours Severus," Remus covered one of his hands with his own and slid the parchment across the table. "I need to digest all this. I'll be in the shower."

Severus nodded and began to read. Remus kissed him on the top of his freshly washed hair on his way out of the room, and Severus would have smiled if it weren't for the content of the letter he was reading. It was addressed to both of them by Harry, 'Dad and Moony', and Black, 'Moony and Snaky'. At least Snaky was better than Snivelly, or one of the many other names Black had used to taunt Severus with in the past. That man just could not avoid nicknames, but he had never dared to use 'Sev', not that he understood the significance.

Harry's writing was as messy as ever, or even messier as if there was a slight tremor in his hand. There was clearly tension, as the lines were thicker than usual and there were more blots. Harry had decided that no one was going to rescue Charlie just yet, a decision that had to be nearly impossible to make, and it was going to eat away at Harry until Charlie was safe.

If Charlie died... Severus did not even want to think of the repercussions. After all, it was only theory that phoenixes were immortal. He would not put it past Harry to destroy that theory as well.

The information supporting Harry's decision was frightening to say the least. Somewhere there was an ancient artifact powerful enough to destroy an ancient magical city, and it was in the wrong hands. They had no idea when it would be used, or where, or for what purpose. They still didn't know exactly what the artifact could do.

And that was why Harry had written more than just a simple 'back off'. He could have told them to stop looking for Charlie and beware of Malfoys and leave it at that. He needed their help though, or more specifically the Order's help. There were resources Harry couldn't access without exposing himself. To avoid the Ministry delaying him and fouling everything up Harry had to leave Britain.

"I have to call a meeting," Remus said as he came out of the bedroom, clean and dressed to teach his classes.

"Inner Circle only," Severus said, still holding the letter, "and even then we'll have to orchestrate things carefully."

Remus nodded and lifted his wand, _Incendio!_ Severus glared as the letter burst into flame. They needed the information on that parchment. Remus just gave him a look of amusement and tapped his head with his wand.

"I have it memorized Severus," Remus said confidently. "Trust me."

It grated on his instincts, putting full trust in another person, but if he had to trust anyone it would be Harry... and Remus. There had been a time when he trusted Albus, but always with caution, aware of Albus's little games, his little manipulations.

Though it hurt to do it Severus nodded, "I trust you."

Remus kissed him, forcefully, and held him tightly, "And Harry trusts us. We need to prove ourselves worthy of that trust."

They were kissing again, hungrily. There was so much to do now, a purpose to strive for, and a time limit to make it that much more stressful, and somehow this energized them both. Harry needed their help, and by Merlin they would help him.

Giggling interrupted the kiss and Severus turned to see two small faces peering out from the door to the bedroom his grandchildren slept in.

"Yes?" Severus prompted them in his classroom voice.

The tone and posture that made Hufflepuffs quiver in fear did nothing to these small children. They giggled again.

"You kiss like Daddy and Dad," Erica proclaimed, and she and Carver dissolved into giggles again.

Remus went over to them and swung Carver into the air. He shrieked and laughed as Erica ran to Severus. Seeking to hide from Remus the little girl pulled Severus's robes in front of her. Feeling mischievous, Severus reached down and tickled Erica, resulting in more shrieks and giggles.

She collapsed onto the ground, holding her hands up to fend off her grandfather, but Severus had no mercy. He lowered himself to his knees and continued to tickle Erica. Remus held Carver up in the air, spinning around.

The noise predictably woke up the twins, who came into the room rubbing their eyes just as the Floo flared and Molly Weasley stepped into the room.

"Running late this morning?" Molly asked as she assessed the situation quickly.

"Just a bit Molly," Remus grinned at her. "Can you take care of breakfast today?"

"Of course Remus," Molly answered and plucked Carver from the werewolf's arms. She settled him at the table, retrieved Erica from tickle torture, and herded the twins into the kitchen.

Severus took care of signaling the elves that they were ready for breakfast. All-knowing as usual, they sent up breakfast for the four children, a snack for Molly, and some quick food that Severus and Remus could eat in their offices while they prepared for classes.

"Call Hermione sometime today," Severus whispered to Molly on his way out. "We need to talk to her as soon as possible, Ron as well."

Molly nodded and shooed him out of the room. He debated telling her that they knew Charlie's location and decided against it. The mother in her might not accept that Charlie had to be left in captivity for the time being, not knowing if he was healthy, only assured by Harry's assumptions that he was alive.

Severus and Remus parted and headed towards their respective offices with no more than a knowing look and nod, anything more possibly too much of a temptation to lock themselves in their bedroom all day.

That night after dinner when they returned to their quarters Molly informed them that Hermione and Ron would be there within an hour after dropping their own children off at the Burrow. Molly was getting a full day of grandchildren.

George showed up then, already contacted by his mother, and collected his nieces and nephews for a sleepover in his quarters. They each had a backpack and stuffed animal ready, and bounded away with their uncle, each of them none the wiser. Fooling small children was easy. It was the rest of the wizarding world they had to worry about.

"Evening Severus, Moony," Ron stumbled out of the fireplace, started to brush off his robes, and then grinned at Severus and fumbled for his wand.

Hermione stepped through the flames, wand already in hand and cleaned off first Ron and then herself, rolling her eyes at her forgetful husband. She gave Severus and Remus each a kiss on the cheek as she greeted them.

"Mum didn't tell us why we're here," Ron started, looking nervous despite obvious efforts to hide it. "It's Harry, right? Did he find Charlie yet?"

Ron looked around, as if expected them to jump out of one of the doors, or for Harry's phoenix form to appear in a flash of flame. Hermione squeezed his hand and smiled at them, though her smile didn't fully reach her eyes, which had mild bags that were not at all unusual on a mother of a newborn.

"They would have told Molly," Hermione said knowingly.

"Yes and no," Remus said, giving Severus a sidelong look.

Severus sighed, "Harry knows where Charlie is, or thinks he does, but cannot, or will not get him just yet."

"What!" Ron jumped to his feet, but was tugged back down by Hermione and fell onto the couch.

"Ron!" Hermione scolded her husband.

"Let Remus explain," Severus glared at the redhead. He was very familiar with Ron Weasley's temper and tendency to react without hearing all the facts first.

And so Remus explained, impressing Severus with the detail he was able to recall from Harry's letter as if he himself was the one who had written it. Once again Severus was beyond impressed with the werewolf's intellect.

"So when do we start?" Ron questioned the group as a whole once Remus was done. "What do we do first?"

Severus just lifted an eyebrow at the redhead, silently prompting an explanation, which he received from the only witch in the room. The younger couple was much more relaxed than he would expect them to be when faced with potential darkness consuming the world.

"This is what we do Severus," Hermione smirked lightly, as much as she ever did. "Harry gets into some mess, either of his own making or just by stumbling across something, and Ron and I figure out how to help him, whether or not he knows what we're doing."

"The first time was, what, Christmas first year?" Ron's forehead wrinkled slightly as he apparently tried to go through his memories and order them chronologically.

Hermione nodded, "Yes, that was when we started. The three of us all got into that stuff with the Sorcerer's Stone together. The quidditch game doesn't count, as that was a spontaneous interference." She blushed lightly then, "Sorry about your robes Severus."

"The house elves were able to repair them," Severus glared, remembering the day clearly. "Never set fire to me again or I _will_ exact revenge."

Both of Harry's best friends looked a bit sheepish and Ron continued their explanation, "Harry dropped little hints all fall, even if he didn't know he was doing it."

"Not like you heard any of them," Hermione teased her husband.

Ron's face reddened, "Yeah, well, I'm a guy, and a Weasley. I don't do subtle. Anyway, by sometime in November we knew that Harry was staying at Hogwarts for the holiday and didn't even expect to get any presents since the Dursleys never gave him any when he was in their house."

"I couldn't stay," Hermione told them, "not my first year. There was no way my parents would have understood that."

"After Hermione cornered me and pounded the situation into my thick skull I talked to the twins," Ron grinned at that. "They were great. Fred and George wrote home and got Mum on board, and since Gin was the only one at home by then they could manage a short vacation. She wanted to invite Harry to the Burrow but there was no way the Dursleys would give their permission. We made sure Harry didn't spend Christmas alone."

"Once Ron stayed first year we didn't need excuses," Hermione told them with a small smile. "We just kept staying, and Harry never had a Christmas without us. Every birthday he got owls from us, and we made sure they arrived late so the Dursleys couldn't interfere."

"Each year there was something," Ron shook his head. "Harry is just a magnet for trouble, irregardless of all the dark wizards out to get him. Second year there was the Paseltongue thing, third year was Hogsmeade and Sirius, fourth year the tournament, and fifth year was Umbridge."

"Harry just didn't confide in people," Hermione sighed and leaned back. "The Dursleys taught him that his problems were unimportant, that _he_ was unimportant. He wouldn't tell us anything really personal unless we pushed, which he hated."

"Still does," Ron grumbled.

Severus nodded. Being Harry Potter's best friends had been a difficult, sometimes grueling, sometimes extremely dangerous job, but the two Griffindors pulled it off in spectacular fashion, and it was time to do that once more.

"So what do you need us to do for him?" Hermione questioned Severus, bringing them all back on task.

"Mostly research," Remus took over. "We can't be there for Harry physically, but we might be able to help him all the same."

"He can't come back to England until he has Charlie with him," Severus massaged the bridge of his nose.

"Right," Hermione nodded, her eyes a bit distant. "You two have the Hogwarts library covered?" Remus signaled his agreement. "My team is already researching some of this at the Order library, and I'll leave them to it. Angelina volunteered to help, so she can take care of the Diagon Alley library."

"And you'll get the Black library and Edinburgh library," Remus finished. He looked to Severus, and Severus nodded his consent. "You can access the Snape vault as well for Severus's library. Who will take care of the Ministry library?"

Hermione tilted her head just a bit. It was her thinking look that every Inner Circle member recognized easily, "We'll need a Ministry employee, and we can't ask an Auror. They have too much to handle already with the dementors and vampires."

That was yet another reason that Harry leaving England was a wise idea. Severus did not want to even imagine what could happen if Harry stumbled across dementors without Charlie there to ground him, drugged on Raivannin, and in the company of a man who could most likely not produce a Patronus after his twelve year stay in the company of the dementors.

Ron gave his input then. Strategy was his forte, not research, so he often stayed silent during conversations revolving around books and libraries. "We can ask Ginny to talk to Nico and Hestia. No one would think it odd if she questioned them regarding Harry. I'm sure they're eager to help Harry, and as Unspeakables they have unlimited access to the library, and didn't Harry mention something about books in their department that aren't available to the Ministry in general?"

Hermione kissed him, "Brilliant Ron."

He turned red and grinned, "I can play stay-at-home Dad for a while, since Quidditch is off-season."

Severus was feeling less anxious for the first time since Harry had shown up in his bedroom, frantic about Charlie's disappearance. Hermione was questioning Remus and getting down everything she needed on paper. The Order research team was already looking into ancient artifacts that were exceedingly dark, but now she could nudge them in a more defined direction.

"He said that it probably had something to do with the Fall of Babylon right?" Hermione said thoughtfully.

Remus suddenly echoed her expression and Severus exchanged a look with Ron, then almost choked on the realization that _he_ was the dimwitted spouse, waiting to see what his brilliant mate had deduced.

"Yes," Remus licked his lips and summoned quill, ink, and parchment. "It might not be an artifact at all."

"Excuse me?" Severus had no idea what they were thinking.

"There is no known artifact with the power to destroy a city," Hermione elaborated. "That is the trouble we've been having, Harry and Davey too I assume. All the theories say that Babylon was destroyed in the backlash of a ritual gone wrong. What if..." her voice trailed off as if she didn't have the words to articulate her suspicions.

"The stones of Hogwarts have absorbed centuries of magic," Remus was writing while he spoke, a flurry of numbers and symbols. "When the backlash occurred, what happened to all that magic? What if there were several stones, or even just one stone, that it was directed into, that has contained it all the years since then?"

"Blimey," Ron said in a hushed whisper.

"Something with that much power, and we have no idea where it is," Severus narrowed his eyes. Chances were he knew the people who had the stone, who were scheming with it.

The truth remained that the most powerful of Death Eaters had been captured or killed. It still bothered him that there were a few Death Eaters he had never identified, which left an enormous possibility for someone powerful enough, and dark enough to be hiding out there somewhere. Severus knew of none that were still at large that had the ability to play with that much magic. Of course, very few wizards and witches acknowledged their own limits.

"This could be very bad," Hermione gulped.

"If someone without the power to control that magic tries to release it," Severus agreed with the young woman, "there could be catastrophic trouble."

"We just better pray that Harry rescues Charlie and finds this... thing... before that happens," Ron said tightly, keeping his fear at bay.

There were nods all around the room. Together, the most powerful members of the Order might be able to combine their strength to contain a massive unleashing of dark magic, but without Harry their chances were not hopeful.

"We need to be very careful with this information," Hermione, ever practical, stated. "Not even all of the Inner Circle can learn about this unless we want to spread panic."

They all nodded again, mentally sorting through the roster of the Inner Circle, determining those that would be able to help and those that would just be frantic upon hearing their worst case scenario.

"Merlin help us all," Remus aptly summed up all their thoughts.

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	34. Chapter 34

**Chapter Thirty-Four**

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Harry wondered if Sirius had ever ridden in a muggle taxicab before. He had surely taken the Knightbus, and the train to Hogwarts, and possibly even the Underground at some point, as he had lived in London most of his life.

They had taken the taxi from a village not far from Malfoy Manor to London, then a train across country towards Potter Manor, and finally another taxi to a village near Potter grounds, which was mixed muggle and magic. Sirius told him in and emotionless tone that the Pettigrews had lived in the village, and the Figgs before they were attacked by Death Eaters. Longbottom Manor was in a village on the other side of Potter Manor.

From there they walked to Potter Manor, where Tawney greeted them enthusiastically, but was disappointed that they were not staying for more than the one night. There, Harry unlocked the case that held his wand and removed it a bit reluctantly. By taking out the wand for his use rather than for teaching his children, Harry was acknowledging that he wasn't going to stop using the Raivannin anytime soon. That alone disturbed him.

In his study he also kept his Order of Merlin, First Class ribbon and pendant. The ribbon was a deep purple, and the pendant a silver wizard's hat on a many pointed gold star, his full name inscribed on the back with the date the award was given. He put the ribbon around his neck and tucked the pendant under his shirt, seeing Sirius do the same out of the corner of his eye. They were charmed by the Ministry to be undetectable by muggles.

They left Potter Manor early in the morning and took another taxi ride to London, instructing the driver to drop them off at Covent Garden. Blending in with all the muggles getting their morning coffee and tea and whatever pastry they preferred, Harry sent Sirius for food while he flipped open his Order phone and dialed.

"Harry?" The voice was a little skeptical.

"Hey Toby," Harry greeted Ginny's fiancé. "Something's come up and I need your help. I can be there within half-an-hour if you're available."

There was a pause and Harry heard several clicking sounds which brought back memories from Privet Drive and Dudley's computer. "I have an appointment in just a few minutes, but that should be quick. Shall I meet you at security?"

"That's probably best," Harry closed his eyes and tried to remember exactly what security the muggles had. Whatever it was Sirius would need an escort, and Harry might not qualify.

"Coffee and a croissant," Sirius said as he handed food and a cup to Harry.

Harry nodded his thanks.

"I'll see you then," Toby said from his end.

"Don't put my name in your system Toby, or mention this to anyone please," Harry told his soon-to-be brother-in-law, "not even Gin... and I'll have someone with me."

"I know some of what's going on Harry," Toby said with compassion. "I hope I can help you."

"Thanks." The call ended and Harry turned to Sirius, "We have a few minutes before we have to be going again."

They leaned against a brick wall and watched the muggles walking by. It was a mild morning for early January and London's population was acknowledging that by crowding the streets. Harry saw Sirius's eyes trail after a particularly attractive woman in a tight calf-length wool skirt and high heels. She had her own steaming cup in hand and sipped from it as she walked at a brisk pace.

"I'm sorry."

"Huh?" Sirius's snapped from the woman's backside to Harry. "What for?"

"You just got your life back, and now because of me –"

"No Harry," Sirius looked down at him sternly. "Never feel guilty for the paths my life has taken. I'm still young Harry. I've got a good eighty or ninety years left, or more if I try to beat Albus. I have more than enough time to _finally_ fulfill my role as your godfather and get my life back on track." He grinned roguishly then, "Besides, I probably got more than enough muggle tail in my years just after Hogwarts."

"Oh really?" Harry lifted his eyebrows.

He had never had a conversation like this with his godfather, or anyone in his parent's generation really. Remus had hinted, and flushed bright red in the process, and Harry didn't want to know anything about his father's sex life.

Sirius nodded, his grin remaining, "I lived in London for a few years, in an apartment building with mixed tenancy. Emmeline owned the building and rented to me as a favor to your grandmother. My name didn't exactly inspire confidence.

"Anyway, I was training as an Auror, then working as an Auror, and spending most of my off time in muggle London exploring the bars and clubs. It's difficult with muggles though. You can't really get close to them without telling them what you are, and you can't tell them unless you're close and sure they won't go telling everyone they know."

Harry nodded slowly and bit into his croissant. He had never experienced that difficulty, as he had Charlie and the dragon preserves. Harry Potter left the muggle world when he was eleven and never looked back.

Sirius had been raised to despise everything muggle though, so when his teenage rebellion came about it was natural that he went to the muggle world and immersed himself.

"So you're looking for a nice witch then?" Harry smirked at his godfather.

The older wizard paled a bit, "Don't you even think about setting me about. I met the type of witches you know. I'd rather not date someone who can subdue an angry dragon."

Harry chuckled, even if he didn't feel happy by any stretch of the imagination. He had to at least act normal or he would spiral downwards into a devastating depression and be unable to rescue Charlie. He glanced down at his watch.

"Time to go," Harry announced quietly. He stepped away from the wall and led Sirius towards the Underground. Harry wouldn't risk walking through London, as someone might recognize him.

Sirius jogged a few steps to catch up and then slowed his pace to match Harry's, "Where are we going?"

"I was wondering when you'd ask," Harry smirked. "We're stopping in to see a friend, who will help us get to Alexandria the muggle way."

"That didn't really answer my question," Sirius pouted, but his blue eyes were laughing.

"MI-Six."

"Hm?"

"The muggle Department of Mysteries," Harry clarified, making sure no one was listening as they descended to catch a train.

"Yeah," Sirius shook his head as if the motion would order his thoughts, "I remember something about that... MI-Five would be the Aurors right?"

Harry nodded, letting Sirius know his memories were correct.

They stepped off at the proper stop and rode the multistory escalator to street level, where Harry turned them right along the Thames to an impressive, very solid looking building with minimal windows. There was a main entrance, but they passed that and went around the side where a guard stood at a lesser entrance.

Harry flashed his identification, "Tobias Sheffield is expecting us."

The guard took the ID folder, examined it, blinked, looked at Harry for a moment, and gave a short nod, "Just a moment Sir Potter."

"Sir Potter?" Sirius questioned with his eyebrows raised.

Harry scowled at his godfather, "Drop it."

"But My Lord –" Sirius mocked.

"I _said_ drop it!" Harry glared. The guard kept his face impassive, but Harry detected the underlying amusement.

"My Lord is not the proper greeting," a voice interrupted the staring contest.

Sirius turned first and wrinkled his forehead, "I know you."

"We met at the Weasleys," Toby held his hand out. "Tobias Sheffield, Ginny's fiancé. If you were to use Harry's official title, it would be Sir Harry, or Sir Potter for those who are not familiar with him. He was invested a Knight of the Realm after defeating the Dark Lord."

Sirius smiled wickedly, no doubt seeing all the possible ways to tease Harry, who was clearly uncomfortable with being knighted.

"Toby?" Harry prompted firmly.

"Of course," Toby led them into the building and through a variety of security checkpoints. Harry had never actually been in the building, but had it described to him both by Ginny and his colleagues among the Unspeakables.

"Your interior decorator won't be winning any awards," Sirius commented with a little laugh.

Toby turned his head just before they left the lift for his floor, "We did not have one. MI-Six does not have a public relations office, as we are not supposed to have anything to do with the public. No one without clearance is allowed in the building, we give no tours, and none of the employees lounge about in the corridors."

Sirius just nodded and continued to look around as they stepped into Toby's office. Harry went from seeing no magic whatsoever to a bright mixture of many wards and charms. Several of the plants in the office were magical species.

He gave a low whistle, "You have some impressive protection on this office."

"So Ginny tells me," Toby nodded and sat down, gesturing for his guests to take the seats opposite him. "How can I help you?"

Toby seemed doubtful, as if without magic he could not provide any assistance. He had sent out a message to offices across Europe, Asia, and the Americas with a description of Charlie, but doubted he could do much more.

"We need to get to Alexandria, Egypt, off the magical radar," Harry explained. "I intend to fly, so we need passports, preferably diplomatic or something along those lines so we'll have minimal trouble with customs and security."

At that Toby grinned, his eyes lighting up, "There I can help you. Follow me."

He stood and led them back to the lifts, and down to one of the subterranean levels. They passed through more security, and several doors that made a sound as if they were vacuum sealed.

"Ginny hasn't even been down here, but since you're technically one of our agents, and Sirius is with you..." Toby said to peak their interest as he punched in a code at a very solid looking door.

It opened to reveal a group of men and women in white laboratory coats over their suits working at several stations, fiddling with strange mechanisms, or in one case holding a firearm under a drill press and modifying it. They wove through the room to another door at the far side, none of the white coated muggles acknowledging their existence.

"Jay Jay," Toby called as they passed through the door, closing it securely behind them.

This man was bent over a table and a large magnifying lens. He held a small knife in one hand and was working on some papers that Harry could see well from his spot by the door.

"Hey Toby, what's life like upstairs?" 'Jay Jay' asked.

"I have a window," Toby smirked.

Jay Jay narrowed his eyes, "Traitor." He grinned then, "What can I do for you?"

"I need papers for these two, full identification sets. Let's make them military, diplomatic posts, well-traveled," Toby said with a smile, "and I need it yesterday."

"Let's see what you have," Jay Jay held out a hand and Harry and Sirius passed over their MI-Six and MI-Five folders respectively. Jay Jay examined them, turned them over in his hands, "I didn't make these." He held up Sirius's, "This has been expired for more than fifteen years."

Sirius shrugged and Harry kept his face impassive. He wasn't about to explain that Sirius, technically, was no longer an Auror, and therefore MI-Five, due to a lengthy prison stay.

"The existence of these two gentlemen is classified," Toby impressed, his expression firm.

"Got it," Jay Jay nodded. He put aside his work and pulled out several blank identification forms from his drawers. "Just step over to my camera then."

They posed for pictures and Jay Jay went to work, humming all the while along with his radio, which he turned up while he was cutting, laminating, stamping, and putting the papers through a variety of bends, twists, and other abuses so they showed some wear.

The whole process took less than two hours, after which he handed over several documents, "Here you are gentlemen. I've invented names for you as you can see. It wouldn't do for your names to turn up in customs I gather. Is that all?"

Toby looked over the papers and Harry remained silent, glad that Sirius was doing the same. "Credit cards, one of the accounts linked to my office."

Harry and Toby had a silent battle of wills, which Toby won. It wasn't just that Harry could well afford to fly all over the globe, but with accounts that Toby knew he would be able to trace where Harry went.

He already had a substantial amount of money too, both muggle and magical, which he kept at Potter Manor so he was not entirely reliant on Gringotts for his monetary needs.

"I won't let anyone know where you are," Toby assured, "not even Gin. I'll keep track in case you need something from us, but I will not take any action on my own."

Harry nodded then, and accepted the Visa and Discover Card, both with high limits, in the name that was on his faked passport. If nothing else they would be additional identification and a failsafe in case he needed to make a large purchase he did not have the money for.

"You need clothes, luggage," Toby looked Harry and Sirius up and down. Up until then Sirius had been silent, fascinated by the technological muggle surroundings that few muggles even saw.

"We don't have time to go shopping," Sirius said firmly. Harry was glad of that, as he was getting anxious to leave, having spent too long at this place where people not only knew who he was but had the ability to keep him there against his will.

Toby nodded absently, "We can take care of that. You should have bags that look a little used anyway. It's more believable."

Harry nodded tightly. He could feel the potion starting to wear off and took a vial out of his pocket, sipping at it, feeling the cool, steady, somewhat foggy effects of the potion return to him. Sirius saw and guided him to a seat while Toby stepped out of the room and gave some orders. Moments later there were two suitcases along with two smaller bags.

Less than an hour after they left Toby, Harry and Sirius were at Heathrow and had purchased two tickets to Egypt. They lined up with well over fifty muggles to go through airport security and proceeded to look bored just like everyone else who was waiting. They discussed Astronomy, one of the few subjects wizards were well versed in and able to talk about around muggles.

"Place your shoes and coat in the container and step through," one of the many guards instructed after matching Harry's identification with his ticket.

Harry obeyed, removing his boots and heavy topcoat, both in the style used by the Royal Navy and provided by Toby. His Order of Merlin pendant wouldn't set off the metal detector thanks to the charms. Nevertheless, as he stepped through a beeping sound greeted him and the guard there motion for him to step to the side.

"Lift your arms to the sides sir," the guard pulled out a long, grey, wand-like object and started passing it over Harry's body.

Sirius made it through without difficulty and began collecting their bags, putting Harry's shoes and coat within reach. The guard reached Harry's feet and the wand-like object began beeping.

"Pin in my ankle," Harry volunteered.

The guard nodded, "Very well sir."

Harry put his boots back on and draped his coat over his arm, taking his bags from Sirius, "I almost forgot about that."

"What was it?" Sirius was scanning the signs above their heads, looking for their gate.

"Broken ankle when I was four," Harry told his godfather as muggles swarmed around either side of him. "It needed surgery."

"Let me guess," Sirius's gaze was dark. "I don't want to know the details."

Harry shook his head. They stepped onto a moving walkway, a new experience for both of them, and a little disconcerting. Following the crowd though, they walked with the muggles, taking well over twenty minutes, including a short bus ride, to reach their gate. They sat to wait for boarding in a room reserved for those with Business Class tickets.

Sirius leaned over to Harry and whispered, "Remind me again why we can't use a Portkey?"

"Too easy to trace Padfoot," Harry replied with a shake of his head. "Unless we want Aurors waiting for us there we have to travel the muggle way."

"I miss life being simple," Sirius groaned.

"When was life simple?" Harry asked him, actually interested in the answer.

"About forty years ago," was the response. Sirius grinned.

Harry smacked his godfather. Unfortunately he couldn't share the sentiment. From the moment he was born, in the middle of a war with a prophecy hanging over his head, Harry's life had been a struggle.

"Now boarding, Flight 37 to Cairo, at Gate F9, Business Class and passengers boarding with small children or needing assistance," an announcement came over a speaker system and was repeated twice more.

Harry and Sirius stood and gathered their bags, not checking any of them on Toby's advice, and had their tickets collected before walking down a long runway and onto the long metal tube that would carry them across an entire continent over a mile in the air.

"Let's get this over with," Harry said tightly. While enclosed spaces themselves did not bother him, reminding him of his refuge in his cupboard, he hated small spaces with other people in them with him.

Sirius put his hand on Harry's and Harry resisted the instinct to pull away. He had been trying not to think about Charlie since Malfoy Manor, since he had made that terrible decision, but it was a battle he was losing. Harry gripped his godfather's hand, accepting the support offered.

"I have a calming potion if you need it, or a sleeping draught," Sirius whispered so the other passengers boarding the plane wouldn't hear him.

"Thank you," Harry responded sincerely, mentally thanking his father as well for sending Sirius after him, "for everything."

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	35. Chapter 35

**Chapter Thirty-Five**

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"We're going about this the wrong way," Hermione said as she shifted her baby to her shoulder to burp her.

Remus looked up from his book. Severus was conducting lessons with his grandchildren in the kitchen, all of them seated at the breakfast table. Ron was at home with his other children while Hermione was researching with Remus, the two of them working together so they could bounce ideas off each other without using their phones or waiting for an owl to make the trip to and from Hogwarts.

"How so?"

"Well," the youngest of that branch of the Weasley family burped and Hermione wiped her infant's mouth and settled her in the portable crib she kept in their quarters recently, "we know this artifact, or receptacle, has immense power, right?"

"Yes."

"And whoever has it is probably going to release that power and attempt to control it, right?"

"Right."

"So maybe we don't need to know what they'll try to do with it," Hermione concluded, her lower lip pulled under her teeth nervously.

Remus nodded slowly, his brain starting to catch up with her chain of thought, "We need to focus on who has it, where they might use it..."

"And how to stop it," Hermione completed.

"We can't rely on Harry to be there when we need him this time," Remus winced, thinking on how much they had relied on Harry to end the war and the tendency to rely on him to solve any other problem. It wasn't healthy for the wizarding world as a whole, and certainly not for Harry.

"So we need books on containing magic, combining power," Hermione started listing off the new topics they needed to look into and writing them down on a fresh sheet of parchment.

"It took fifty last time," Remus thought aloud. "We need to look into ways to detect power spikes and hope to get there before the magic gets out of control. There's no way we'll be able to get fifty witches and wizards to work together on short notice."

Hermione agreed with him and they began to go over the names of everyone in the Order, rating them based on power levels and compatibility. It would mean leaving Hogwarts with a skeletal staff, but that could be supplemented with Aurors for a short time if necessary.

In the meantime, it finally grew dark and Remus had a small mission to accomplish. He left Hermione going through a catalogue of the Hogwarts library, a fascinating book available only to the Hogwarts librarian, Headmistress, and Deputy Headmaster.

Once outside the wards Remus apparated and stood outside a large house, taking a deep breath. He hadn't been there in years, and tried not to visit very often. It reminded him of years he would rather forget altogether, but that could not be avoided.

"Remus."

He shook off his apprehension and bowed just a little, acknowledging one of only a very few individuals with the ability to sneak up on him.

"Joseph."

"I take it this is not a social visit," Joseph took Remus's arm and led him towards the house.

Inside Remus was greeted by a large group of vampires, perhaps the largest gathering he had ever seen at one time. He looked at Joseph questioningly. It was discombobulating being around that many other creatures but none of them with a scent or heartbeat. They were even standing perfectly still. Remus's senses told him he should smell and hear something but were not detecting anything.

With one motion of Joseph's hand the group filed through a door to the drawing room, where they stood motionless again and waited for Remus and Joseph to talk.

"I assumed that what you are here for concerns not only myself," Joseph stated plainly.

Remus nodded with just a touch of hesitation. He had not been prepared to talk to so many, or even expected that many to be in residence, "It does not."

There were some satisfied nods around the room. Remus knew that not one of them would dare attempt to hurt him, not if they weren't prepared to fight Joseph and any vampire loyal to Joseph first.

Joseph began by telling Remus why so many vampires were living in his house... or not so much living as residing, "Things have gotten out of hand in the outside world. It is starting to resemble the middle ages for us. Any who leaves this property finds themselves in danger of sun charms or wooden stakes."

Several of the vampires there snarled and Remus nodded, "The Ministry issued a directive to the Aurors to curse first, question later where vampires are concerned. The attacks are getting progressively worse and there are not enough Aurors and Hit Wizards to protect the entire country. The muggles are hopeless against the dementors, and they pave the way for these rogue vampires."

That statement was followed by a few deep throated growls which Remus's sensitive ears picked up carefully.

"That is why we as a whole wish to speak with you," Joseph smiled at Remus, a combination of pride and mischief on his face. Joseph put a fatherly hand on Remus's shoulder, "Remus, my child, I have a proposition for you."

Remus was in a slight daze as he slowly climbed the staircases at Hogwarts, one after another, never erring in direction despite his head that was feeling almost heavy due to the swirling mass of thoughts. His eyes were unfocused as he stood at the portrait that led to his quarters, unable to summon the password out his mind.

The portrait swung open nevertheless to reveal an extremely concerned Severus on the other side. As was customary, concern showed itself on Severus's face with thinned lips and narrowed eyes. He had always used anger, displeasure, any negative feeling to mask that there was a human heart beating within his chest.

"What is wrong with you?" Severus hissed.

The deep worry thrummed along Remus's veins, the emotion that he could smell manifesting throughout his body, and a tiny objective part of his brain filed it away as a possible side effect of the mating. His head actually ached, like it was crammed so full of thoughts that they were pressing on the inside of his skull and threatening to crack it.

Remus threaded his fingers into his hair and just held his head tightly, his hands perhaps able to keep it all in, stop the throbbing.

Somehow Severus knew. He grabbed one of Remus's arms and gently pulled him inside their quarters, leading him to 'Remus's chair' and settling him there. The Potions Master disappeared for only a moment and came back with several vials. He gave Remus first a Headache Draught, followed by a calming potion, a mild one.

It took several minutes for the full effects to take place and slowly Remus removed his hands and rubbed his face. The implications of the meeting he had just left were staggering, potentially global in the long run.

"How much hate mail is the castle diverting Severus?" Remus looked into his mate's eyes, seeking the mere fraction of a second that Severus would react to the question, know that he had been caught.

"It started with at least five howlers a day, along with a variety of cursed letters, a few envelopes with silver powder, and now it's down to a howler or so a week," Severus admitted, looking completely unashamed for keeping this secret.

Remus nodded, "It's going to pick up again."

"What did you do?" Severus looked wary now, especially as he was the only one who knew where Remus had gone that night.

"There are currently two vampires, sisters, fixing up the Shrieking Shack and moving in," Remus smiled sheepishly, still not entirely sure he made the best decision. Hogwarts would protect her students, and also the vampires, but the community was going to have a collective fit. He was also going to have to transform elsewhere, probably Grimmauld Place. "I need to see Amos as soon as possible."

Severus nodded, still wary, eying Remus cautiously, "He's going to want a word with us about this."

"Not that," Remus was still off kilter. "You know how I told you I would never ask Joseph, not after everything he's already done for me?" Severus nodded. "He offered, along with the rest of his household."

"How many?" Severus's jaw dropped, a most unusual move on the part of the usually stoic professor.

Remus swallowed, "A bit over four hundred all told."

"Four hundred...," Severus repeated in awe. "That's more than the entire Department of Law Enforcement, both field and office personnel."

"Can you call Ginny? Have her set something up?" Remus rubbed his face again. How on earth was he going to convey all this to Minister, never mind the rest of the country? "I think I need... I'll be taking a bath."

Remus wandered out of the room without any interference. If nothing else, their bond let them understand each other much better and Severus knew that Remus needed some time to process his thoughts before saying anything more.

He stripped off his clothing in the bedroom and meticulously put everything away where it belonged. One thing that had never changed about him, no matter how he lived, was his incessant neatness. Remus absolutely despised disorder and dirtiness, and luckily Severus did as well.

Due to the uncanny senses of house elves, and perhaps a little prodding from the castle herself, Remus entered the bathroom to find a steaming tub of water waiting for him, complete with Mind Clarity Bubblebath, one of Severus's personal creations that he did not share with the outside world.

Severus would likely kill anyone outside his close little circle of family were they to discover he had invented a variety of Bubblebaths. As a frequent victim of the Cruciatus Curse in earlier years, Severus well knew the soothing properties of a hot bath, especially if the water was filled with healing potions.

The hot water felt marvelous on Remus's frequently abused muscles. He slipped under the water briefly to wet his hair and resurfaced to breath in the steam that carried the potion component of Severus's work. Remus let it do its work and started to sort through the information crowding his mind.

"I thought dogs hated taking baths," Severus teased good-naturedly forty or so minutes later.

"They do," Remus smirked, glad to get in his own dig in the process even if the recipient wasn't there. Severus would appreciate it anyway. "I'm a wolf, not a dog. I have it on first hand information that Sirius hates bathtubs with a passion."

Severus snickered, a wicked smile on his face, armed with new ammunition against his long-time nemesis. They were no longer attempting to maim or murder each other, or even hex each other so they were unrecognizable, but Remus knew they would never stop antagonizing each other.

He opened his eyes then, and saw that Severus was wearing only an open robe, which he slipped off when they made eye contact and Remus sat up straight. Severus stepped in the water, charmed to remain heated, and sank down, pulling Remus to rest against his bare chest.

Fingers carded through his chest hair, thick like all of his hair, a sign of lycanthropy that was rarely mentioned in polite society, and Remus hummed in appreciation. He brought one of the slim hands up to his mouth for a kiss and marveled at the fine texture of the hair on Severus's arms. He turned it over to the inside and let a finger trace over the Dark Mark.

Unlike the time following Voldemort's first fall, the Dark Mark had remained solid and black on the arms of all his Marked servants after Harry killed him. They theorized that Voldemort designed the Mark only to fade if he could come back, so he would have servants there for him if he did. With Voldemort never returning, there was no effect on _him_ if all his servants were captured.

Severus yanked his arm away, and Remus knew he was scowling, "You don't have to hide it Severus, not from me. Do I hide this from you?"

Remus brought his own arm out of the water to show the distorted mass of scar flesh from the werewolf bite. Severus was still tense behind him though, as though he might jump out of the bath at any moment and stalk away in a fury.

"I had a choice in the matter," Severus's voice was full of bitter self-loathing.

"Quite a family we make," Remus snorted derisively. "When they get back we are all going to sit down and talk."

Muscles tensed even further, though Remus had not thought it possible. Severus absolutely hating discussing his feelings and would avoid it all costs. Harry was unfortunately the same, and Charlie and Remus let them. That had to stop, Remus decided. He shook his head, knowing that he should have cornered the two dark haired men much sooner, and turned to face Severus.

"You are not evil. You can be sarcastic, bitter, demeaning, and even cruel at times, but you are also compassionate, loving, and tender when you wish it," Remus punctuated each quality with a kiss, to the cheek, an eyelid, a shoulder, each time a different location. "Yes, you did some horrible things in the past, and I will never question you on exactly what they were, but you have also done some wonderful things, made tremendous sacrifices, and saved many hundreds of lives."

Severus's sneer, most likely directed at himself, slipped briefly and melted into an impassive mask of indifference, used to hide uncertainty, "I thought this talk was happening later."

"I'm just preparing you for the subject," Remus grinned, knowing he had won. "Harry will not get the same warning."

That warranted a laugh, "We would never find him again."

Then Severus's face darkened, as the full weight of what he said settled on them both.

"We will," Remus breathed with confidence. "I have faith in him, and in Sirius."

One eyebrow lifted, the only change to the face he was study, "Faith in the mutt?"

"Yes Severus," said Remus. "Sirius is rash and impulsive. He is also dedicated to Harry more than he has ever been dedicated to anything before in his life. He would move mountains to protect his godson."

"Good," Severus nodded tightly. "He may have to."

"You called Ginny?" Remus changed the subject knowing that any more talk about Sirius and Harry would not end well. Aside from which, his mind was still pressing at him with various far-reaching implications of the tentative deal he made.

Severus nodded, "She'll get you in to see Amos first thing tomorrow."

He breathed out a sigh of relief. Really, the subject didn't need an answer that early, as Remus couldn't see Joseph again until dark, but the Minister might need the full day to consult various Department Heads.

"It's probably about time we got some changes at the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures anyway," Remus remarked with a smirk. "Or we could just put Hagrid in charge of it."

Severus shook his head decisively, "Hagrid stays here. That oaf is the only one who can keep the thestral herd under control."

"And the acromantulas," Remus added.

"The Lightning Bats."

"The resident werewolf."

"That's my job."

The smirk on the Potion Masters lips was predictable, but then Remus had set him up for that one. He listened carefully and heard the steady breathing of four sleeping children in the next room. Remus leaned in and kissed Severus, nearly all the bubbles in the bath gone.

There was something picking at Remus's brain and he pulled away from the kiss, "Severus, who did Voldemort have in charge of the demetors?"

"Belletrix Lestrange, but Longbottom killed her," Severus answered him in some confusion for the tangent.

"You mean Narcissa Malfoy's sister?"

It was so easy to forget the two were related, one of them the insane Azkaban escapee, the only woman Marked by Voldemort, and the other one of the most respected society witches in Europe.

"Oh shit."

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	36. Chapter 36

**Chapter Thirty-Six**

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Ginny watched the Minister carefully, and with a trifle amount of amusement. His mouth was hanging open, and had been for many minutes.

It had been a difficult time to step in and take over the reigns, especially as Cornelius Fudge had screwed up so much procedure and legislature and left the finances in confusion. Not only did Amos Diggory have to wade through that mess and sort it out, but he had to lead the wizarding world in the midst of the dementor and vampire attacks and in the wake of Albus Dumbledore's death.

In truth, Harry's legislature had come at the worst time and was only making things more difficult. Factions for and against dark creature rights had formed and were protesting, sending piles of howlers, and scrolls of 'advice' for the new Minister.

Now Remus came into the Minister's office and dropped yet another dungbomb into the works.

"Could you repeat that please Remus?" Amelia Bones requested, ending about three solid minutes of stunned silence.

"In a nutshell, Madame Bones, Minister Diggory, there are approximately four hundred vampires who have formally offered their services to aid us in ending the current attacks," Remus said plainly, as if repeating the day's homework to his students.

Ginny blinked a few times. Severus had not told her exactly what the meeting would cover, only that Remus had met with Joseph and needed to speak with the Minister urgently. Assuming it was regarding the vampires attacking muggles, Ginny had informed Amelia of the meeting.

"Why through you?" Amos Diggory latched onto a simple aspect of the situation, buying more time to process the offer and all its implications.

Remus smiled congenially. Ginny guessed that at least one reason they chose Remus was that he could charm anyone he met with a simple smile. He always looked so proper, and kind, and as unlike a dark creature as anyone would imagine, but beneath it all he was powerful and there was a raw animalistic quality. Ginny loved her fiancé, yet at times she truly envied Severus.

"I am family," Remus stated simply. "The vampires needed a representative for many reasons. They cannot come here during business hours, as the sun would kill them. There is also the problem that if one entered the Ministry, the first Auror they encountered would either fry them or stake them through the heart."

Amelia flushed as if rebuked, "I assure you Remus that those orders were entirely –"

"They were necessary and the vampires understand this," Remus interrupted. "All the same, such vigilance on the part of wizards and witches makes them realistically uneasy. Many have accounts with Gringotts that they cannot access. Some of them are starving, as they cannot leave their homes to hunt."

The Minister shifted uneasily in his chair and Ginny felt like rolling her eyes. The man had been the Department Head for the Control of Magical Creatures. How could a little blood drinking get to him like that?

Remus leaned forward and spoke reassuringly, "I can promise you Minister, that the vast majority of vampires strictly avoid witches and wizards as a general rule, and certainly do not drink from them. Why take blood from those who would recognize you and fight back, when there are billions of muggles without a clue?"

"That is logical," Diggory admitted. He paused for a moment. "So what you are telling me, is that an alliance has been offered between vampires and wizards?"

"In a way of speaking," Remus was speaking to the Minister as though he was a student, and for some reason the Minister did not object. Ginny marveled at his ability to put anyone at ease and wondered if anyone else ever noted how very like Dumbledore Remus was, only without the bright colors, lemon drops, and extremely odd sense of humor.

"Vampires are not organized into any sort of government or group. They follow a few rules, but generally leave each other be. Most of them are somewhat nomadic and travel from country to country, staying with others they know that have permanent lodgings, like my friend. Currently, nearly every vampire he knows is lodging in his house because of the attacks, as his house is the only vampiric abode with magical wards. There is also a safety in numbers, not against us necessarily, but against those of their own kind who are threatening to get them all killed."

Minister Diggory nodded along as Remus spoke and Ginny began to smile. She knew the Auror Department would welcome the help, no matter what form it took. They were stretched thin and rapidly becoming exhausted.

"I advise you to accept Minister," Amelia spoke up, nodding her head at the Minister once, gravely.

Diggory looked at Amelia for a few moments, then nodded in return, and turned back to Remus, "How is it they will aid us?"

"Vampires can... detect others of their kind," Remus was speaking without full confidence for the first time in their meeting. "I can't even begin to explain it, as I cannot sense them at all. They have no smell, no heartbeat, no breath...

"Joseph offered to coordinate patrols with the Auror Department. Vampires are not affected by dementors, as they have no soul to be affected," Remus was in teaching mode again, a default state for him. "They will handle the rogue vampires if the Aurors will take care of the dementors. Not a single wizard vampire exists, so they have no magic to destroy or herd dementors, but they can fight their own kind quite efficiently."

Amelia was nodding then, most likely already changing around her patrol groups. Each of them already had at least one Auror with a powerful patronus, and another with a strong flame charm, as they had recently discovered that a fire hot enough destroyed dementors, and yet another that specialized in creatures. She could split them even further now and cover more countryside.

"I would like to meet your friend," Amos Diggory told Remus, though his shoulders were a bit tense. "I can stay late this evening. Amelia?"

"Certainly," Amelia agreed, as she would need to consult with the vampire eventually anyway to organize the cooperative efforts.

"Ginny," Diggory turned to her, "the muggles will need to know that we'll have vampires in the field, and not to interfere in any battle between them and the rogue vampires." Ginny nodded and the Minister tapped a globe on his desk, which glowed with a swirling gold and silver mist, "Ernie, please arrange a meeting with a few reporters for this afternoon."

"Yes, sir," Ernie MacMillan, Junior Undersecretary to the Minister answered through the communication globe. "You have a free slot at four."

The globe stopped glowing and was clear once more.

"That is not all Amos," Remus's tone changed, and each person in the room detected the switch from Ministry business to Order business as Remus switched his manner of address for the Minister. "This information I am about to share has been kept very close, not even the full Inner Circle has been told."

Interest was peaked, though Ginny suspected that nothing Remus was about to say would come as a surprise to her. She would later curse herself for overconfidence.

"In regards to the abduction of Charlie Weasley and the... absence of Harry Potter and Sirius Black some new information has come to light," Remus started, and his explanation was long and detailed, the Minister's face turning ashen in the process.

Ginny felt ill, wondering how Harry could possibly be coping with this latest upheaval. Her brother-in-law hadn't been apart from Charlie for more than a few days ever since Voldemort died.

"How is Harry?" Ginny had to ask Remus.

Remus shook his head, "We're not sure, but he can't be doing well."

"Am I missing something?" Minister Diggory asked warily.

The three other Order members exchanged glances. Diggory was not Inner Circle, none of the Diggorys were, but he was Minister now, and _Fudge_ had known. Of course, Fudge knew because he wasn't a risk. He wouldn't even speak Harry's name in public without Harry's permission.

It was up to Remus ultimately, as head of the Order and Harry's somewhat uncle. He sighed and brushed his hand over his face and Ginny suspected the werewolf hadn't gotten much sleep the night before, "Harry and Charlie are both Empathic Amos, and when they bonded that link between them strengthened. Whoever has Charlie has managed to... not sever their bond... but mute it to the point where Harry can't feel Charlie."

He had simplified the problem, Ginny understood, and half-lied as well. No bond had been needed to make that connection stronger, but to make the already strong connection manageable.

For another forty minutes Harry and Charlie were discussed, as Diggory asked several questions to clarify what they told him. Ginny noticed the veiled look of guilt on Diggory's face as they discussed Harry and wondered at it. Was he feeling guilt for wishing that it had been Harry and not Cedric who died during the third task of the Triwizard Tournament, or maybe for not supporting Harry in the year afterwards when the Ministry was vilifying him?

Whichever it was, there was little hope for cooperation between Harry Potter and the new Minister of Magic. Harry still harbored guilt for Cedric's death and did his absolute best to avoid anyone with the surname Diggory.

"That should be all," Diggory checked the clock on his wall and dismissed them all.

Remus had to hurry back to Hogwarts, and Ginny walked through the Ministry corridors with Amelia. The Aurors were overworked and overtired but luckily the attacks were somewhat predictable. For one, they all occurred in the dark, as the vampires could not be in out in sunlight. That meant that days were spent cleaning up after the latest attack and investigating. Hopefully, with assistance from the other vampires, the Auror Department would get a handle on the situation.

They parted at Amelia's office and Ginny went to her own, where she began composing a report to share with the muggles... how to tell them that vampires would be patrolling muggle areas with Aurors... she winced. It was going to be a difficult, at best, meeting. She couldn't even expect Toby to understand.

She was on her third draft when her office door was flung open and a very bright figure stalked in. Ginny had a hex on her lips and her wand pointed but recognized Tonks, who was fuming.

"I can't believe it!" Tonks yelled in frustration and slammed the door shut.

Ginny tucked her wand away, "Tonks?"

If Ginny wasn't mistaken there were tears in the other Auror's eyes, "It's such an arcane rule... no reason for it..."

Standing up from behind her desk, Ginny crossed over to Tonks and sat in one two chairs on the other side, taking the other for herself, "Slow down Tonks. What's going on?"

"You don't know?"

"Obviously not or I wouldn't be asking you!"

Tonks and Ginny had been partners briefly in the field operation stage of Ginny's Auror training. They had actually expected to be assigned together permanently once Ginny's training ended, but then this muggle liaison position had come up. The two of them worked well together, and struck fear in many of their colleagues.

"I'm temporarily assigned the assist you," Tonks ground out.

"Not that I object or anything but why?" Ginny questioned, trying to figure out this latest course. She had just been talking to Amelia and the Department Head hadn't mentioned this. "You're superior in rank to me, and I don't need an assistant."

Tonks changed the color of her hair to its normal almost black dark brown and her eyes to a crystal blue. Some of the frustration left her voice and left her with teary eyes and slumped shoulders, "I had my annual department physical. There's been a rule on the books for years, before I ever trained, that no witch who is expecting is allowed in the field."

Ginny felt her eyes widen. She didn't even know Tonks was seeing anyone, let alone..., "Who's the father? Does he know?"

Her friend grimaced, "This is probably why Amelia assigned me to you. The younger generation of Weasleys keeps growing and growing. What is it with you redheads anyway? I used contraceptive charms!"

"George?" Ginny was astonished. Her brother practically ran from their mother whenever she started talking about grandchildren or marriage. Tonks nodded, tears welling up in her eyes again. "I take it he doesn't know?"

Tonks shook her head and sniffled and Ginny reached across to gather the other witch in her arms for a hug, "Thank you."

"Don't mention it," Ginny smiled at the future mother of her newest niece or nephew. There were getting to be almost too many to keep track of. "Now, wash your face, and freshen up a bit. We have to head over to Toby's office this afternoon so I'll have to fill you in on the latest." Tonks took a shuddering breath and nodded. "Now, are you having any pains, morning sickness?"

Tonks shook her head, "Not yet. I'll have to make an appointment with a healer."

"If George is an idiot just let me know," Ginny grinned at Tonks. Her brother might be a bit of an idiot, but he was a Weasley. When Tonks told him his genes would kick in. "If you need any help with the charms or potions or anything I'm here for you. I've been through this remember?"

Finally a smile crossed the other woman's face and she nodded, casting refreshing spells on herself. That time she initiated the hug, "Thanks Gin."

"Anytime Tonks, and congratulations," Ginny held her tightly, then let her go and returned to her own seat to brief Tonks on the newest developments.

Dressed in their battle robes, disguised with glamour charms for the sake of the muggles, Tonks and Ginny made their way across London to MI-Six, where Ginny had to call Toby down and get Tonks in the security system. When they crossed the threshold of his office their glamour charms failed, one of the many wards on the room.

Toby whistled, "I have never seen you dressed like this."

"Full battle dress, dragonhide armor over charmed robes," Ginny explained and gave her fiancé a quick kiss. "The Department has all of us on high alert, so when we're on duty we're not allowed out of these. Most of us have an assortment of weapons, but I just have the one dagger," Ginny pulled out a long dagger that was in a sheath at the small of her back and set it on Toby's desk. "We don't let Tonks play with sharp objects."

Toby looked a little off-balance but Tonks just laughed, "Yeah. I tripped once during training and was holding a nice sharp sword at the time, slit open my instructor's thigh. They never let me play with knives again."

"What's going on Gin?" Toby finally asked, after fingering the dagger she had put on his desk blotter.

She knew that Toby was under the misconception that all wizards and witches could fight with were their wands. He knew Ginny was in excellent shape, but never asked about the details of her training, as she had never asked about his, knowing that much of what he had been taught was classified. She expected that much of their training was the same and was interested in sparring with him sometime.

"My boss has the PM in her office, so we should head up there," Toby said after she finished filling him in. "I think I want you with me on this one."

He was looking a little shell shocked, and Ginny didn't blame him. He was one of the few muggles that knew there were soul sucking creatures he couldn't see attacking villages all over the country along with vampires, which he had only learned were real a few years ago. Toby had been staying in her apartment for a few months.

Ginny recast their glamours once they were outside the office as it wouldn't do for any passing muggle to see their robes. They took the stairs to the top floor of the building, where some of the most powerful people in the country had their offices.

The secretary to Toby's boss had a larger office than Ginny did, and she used the intercom to tell her that Toby was there with guests. He escorted them into an office only slightly less fancy than the Minister's, passing two armed guards on either side of the door.

Inside, the head of MI-Six, Maxine Renfield, referred to fondly by the MI-Six agents as Max, was seated at her desk with the Prime Minister occupying one of three seats opposite her. They both stood as Toby and the Aurors entered, and Toby handled the introductions, but faltered when he got to Tonks's name.

"I'm sorry, I don't remember your first name," Toby flushed just a bit.

Tonks grinned at that, "I'm liking you more and more Toby. I go by Tonks."

"We need another chair," Max pressed a button on her intercom, but Ginny interrupted.

"No need," Ginny took out her wand, canceled the glamour that disguised their robes and conjured another chair to match the ones already in the room. She hadn't met the PM before, or Toby's boss for that matter, but they both knew of the existence of magic and it was perhaps time for a bit of a show.

"Thanks Gin," Tonks smiled brightly and took the conjured chair, while Ginny and Toby sat in chairs already there.

"Auror Weasley brought me some information that I thought she should pass on to you, as I wouldn't be fully able to answer questions on the matter, which I am sure you will have," Toby prefaced their talk.

Ginny sucked in a deep breath, "I take it you have both been fully briefed on the situation concerning the dementors and vampires." Max and the PM nodded. "Just as not all muggles commit acts of senseless violence, and not all witches and wizards dabble in the dark arts, not all vampires kill to feed, or even leave any evidence of their presence."

"Excuse me?" Max had an astonished look on her face, which was incongruous with her neatly styled grey hair and pressed navy suit.

"The vast majority of vampires feed by taking small amounts of blood from many muggles," Tonks expanded on what Ginny had said, "and some don't even drink human blood. They avoid witches and wizards because we know of them and will fight back. This is why you were not even aware of them until this recent string of attacks. Think of them as exceptionally large mosquitoes."

Joseph would love that one, Ginny told herself mentally, and made a note to bring it up with him sometime, or at least pass it along through Remus. There were cautious nods though, so Ginny took that as a cue to continue.

"The Ministry of Magic is in the process of making an agreement with a group of... benevolent vampires to locate and eliminate the rogue vampires that are killing your subjects," Ginny stated boldly.

"An alliance with vampires?" the PM raised an eyebrow, his face impassive, not revealing his opinion of the matter. Ginny sometimes wished she had a little of Charlie's talent.

"Yes Prime Minister," Ginny told them. "We simply do not have the numbers to combat this threat, and the offer was made through a mutual friend, Remus Lupin."

"Werewolf, right?" Max asked, though she did not sound the least bit unsure of her memory.

There was the briefest flicker of surprise in the Prime Minister's eyes and Ginny wondered, not for the first time, what it was like to learn that the monsters from childhood were real and wandering around among you, some of them much worse than the muggle tales and others virtually harmless. It was going to be a long conversation.

"Well that went well," Tonks said sarcastically as they left the building two hours later.

Ginny groaned, "The PM is afraid of us, MI-Six is almost in a panic because they can't do a damn thing about the dementors and vampires killing _their_ people, and my fiancé just discovered that I'm proficient at fighting with more than just my wand. It was lovely."

"Hey, what did he expect, our battles are all neat and clean and fought at a long distance with pretty flashes of light?" Tonks scoffed. "War is war and it will always be messy and bloody and dirty and painful no matter who is fighting it."

"You can take the rest of the day if you want," Ginny offered, knowing that the news of her pregnancy had come as a shock to the other Auror that day.

Tonks hesitated, "I do have to stop by Mungo's."

"I'll join you," Ginny smiled at the older woman. "Then we'll stop by Rosmerta's and have dinner before you confront my brother."

"I think I'll accept before I chicken out," Tonks let her nerves show finally and they headed toward the muggle London entrance of St. Mungo's. "Promise me something Gin?"

"Sure."

"If your mother tries to hug me to death you'll defend me?"

They both burst out in laughter, knowing full well that Molly Weasley would be ecstatic at Tonks's news. She fussed over every one of her daughter-in-laws whenever they were pregnant, and Tonks did not take to fussing well.

"I'll protect you from the smother monster, er, Mum."

Muggles gave strange looks to the two women laughing so hard they could barely stand outside the abandoned department store.

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	37. Chapter 37

**Chapter Thirty-Seven**

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Sirius glanced at his godson over the top of the book he had opened in front of him. Harry had dark circles under his eyes, as he refused even the mild sleeping draughts that Sirius offered. Spiking his drinks didn't work, as Harry saw the magic of the potion in whatever it was Sirius tried to spike. He would then distract Sirius, switch drinks, and Sirius would get the sleeping potion.

Harry would have made a spectacular Marauder.

They had exhausted the library in Alexandria. There they had found muggle accounts of the Fall of Babylon, which were varied and vague. Even the firsthand narratives showed the evidence of poorly cast memory alteration. The librarian there, an old man who was, by his appearance, nearing his third century of existence, suggested in a wheezy raspy baritone that they might find more at the library in Vatican City.

From Egypt they took another flight, this time bypassing security altogether with their diplomatic identification and so avoiding the trouble with the metal detectors and Harry's ankle. They arrived in Rome, Italy, found a muggle hotel within sight of the Vatican, and managed to book a single room with a pair of beds. Harry insisted that they only enter the wizarding world for the sake of the libraries.

Hedwig found them there and delivered a note from Remus.

_Harry and Sirius,_

_We have changed the focus of our research to discover how to detect and contain a surge of wild magic rather than figure out exactly what the surge will do. Hopefully we'll be able to stop the full unbinding of whatever power that stone contains before it can accomplish its purpose._

_Harry, Severus and I recommend that you find Charlie and come home. It is not your responsibility to prevent the aims of those who have him._

_Love,_

_Remus_

Sirius read the letter aloud and sent Hedwig off, knowing that Harry would not answer the letter. He would either follow the advice within or not, and Remus and Snape would only know by how soon they returned to England.

"They're probably right Harry," Sirius ventured. "I learned the hard way that Remus usually is."

Harry nodded, shaking lightly, "I want to Siri. More than anything I want to find him, and go home to my munchkins. It's almost Randy and Kat's birthday. I've already missed Christmas. Can I just go home and tell them that I would have been back sooner but I was doing research that turned out to be completely unnecessary?"

He flinched. Sirius tried another tack, "You'd be bringing Charlie back to them. I doubt they would care about why it took a little longer than it needed to."

"Than it needed to?" Harry snapped, his eyes flashing, and Sirius took a reflexive step back. Harry had inherited Lily and Snape's tempers all rolled into one. "You think I've been wasting time while the other half of myself is imprisoned somewhere, completely cut off from me?"

"Harry, no," Sirius tried to fix his careless words, wondering if he would spend the rest of his life saying stupid things and hurting the people he loved. "You're doing what you have to do, and I know it's killing you to leave Charlie wherever he is –"

"Do you?" Harry was crying then, and Sirius wanted to kick himself. He had worked so hard to avoid something like this, to keep Harry's mind on their task and off of Charlie.

If only Harry would accept comfort from him, but even drugged on Raivannin, which Harry looked to be taking more frequently and Sirius suspected their supply was dwindling, he would flinch away from touch.

They had gone to sleep then, with nothing resolved, and gone to the wizarding library in Vatican City the next morning, arriving the minute they opened. The Order of Merlin, First Class pendants got them admittance without a question, and even a scribe at that library, a house elf trained to assist in research. They had sent the elf off to find everything the library had on the Fall of Babylon and were burying themselves in mountains of books, folios, and scrolls.

"I'm doing the right thing Siri, aren't I?" Harry had caught Sirius staring at him.

Sirius hesitated but nodded. If Remus was looking to contain the magic from that stone he would need Harry's help. Everything Sirius read on the fall suggested that it had taken fifty wizards that time, and they knew exactly what they were fighting. Then again, if Remus found a way to contain the stone's magic...

"It's possible that whoever has the stone will try to use it before we go for Charlie," Sirius suggested quietly.

Harry's head snapped up at that, "What?"

"Let's say you have a hostage," Sirius tried to pick his words carefully. "The purpose of the hostage is to keep your enemy busy so they don't interfere with whatever nefarious plans you have. Do you carry out those plans while you still have the hostage, or do you wait for your enemy to come to the rescue, and maybe foil you in the process?"

Harry was rapidly paling, the darkness under his eyes becoming more pronounced in contrast, "And once they have no use for Charlie..."

Sirius stood quickly to prevent Harry from running out of the library and causing a scene, "Hold it Harry. It's just a theory. We can skim through what we have here, see if anything catches our eyes, and then head to Paris tonight. At least we'll be closer."

"And I'll stop the Raivannin," Harry swallowed and his eyes showed his fear at that prospect. "I'll need my power at my disposal when we go after Charlie."

"You're running out anyway," Sirius observed and Harry nodded, a slight tremor in his hands as he turned a page. "Take the Dreamless Sleep for a while Harry. You'll need your sleep if you won't have the potion anymore."

Harry tensed enough that Sirius thought he might damage the book, but then he saw his godson forcibly relax his muscles.

"I know," he whispered, "I'll try."

That was the end of their conversation and they both went back to the books, scrolls, folios, diaries, letters, every scrap of parchment in the library that mentioned Babylon's end. The library closed earlier than any other Sirius had ever been in, and they were not much farther than they had been before.

Slowly they walked through the streets of Rome, silent and thinking over their day's research. At one point Harry spun and grabbed the wrist of a passing teenager, removing his wallet from the kid's pocket, cursing at him in impressive Italian, and dragging him over to a nearby muggle policeman for attempted mugging. The officer apologized to them, telling them it was an all too common occurrence in the city.

"I think it might have had something to do with necromancy," Harry said softly once their lights were out, the first he had spoken to Sirius since they were in the library.

Sirius opened his eyes. He had almost been asleep but did not grudge Harry his sleep, "Huh?"

He could hear Harry shifting in the next bed, "I've been trying to think of what magic could be so dark that it would make me physically ill just by seeing the remnants of it. Those ancient wizards may have been trying to create some connection with the spirit world and in so doing discovered necromancy."

Sirius shivered, despite being comfortably warm beneath his blankets, "The muggles all claimed that the Tower of Babel was a spiritual structure, but they have no evidence that it actually existed."

They were on the verge of something. Sirius could feel it.

"It was probably destroyed, especially if it was used as the conduit for all that magic." Sirius's night vision was getting better and he saw Harry prop himself up on an elbow. "What if they were just trying to communicate with their ancestors, a kind of large scale séance or something, and instead they broke through the planes."

Sirius was struck momentarily speechless. If the stone had the power to thin the veil between this world and the next, or eliminate it altogether, all sorts of hell could break loose, quite literally.

"Fuck."

"Indeed."

"You sound like Snape," Sirius snorted, trying to think of anything other than releasing millions of vengeful spirits on the world.

"He _is_ my father idiot," Harry said with clear scorn in his voice. Maybe the Snape bashing was getting a little much. Sirius was going to have to eliminate one of his favorite pastimes.

"Who would want to _do_ that?" Sirius could not comprehend why anyone would try to use that stone, just like he could never understand why Peter had turned on them.

Harry breathed out loudly, "That's what we have to find out. Narcissa didn't love Lucius that much, did she?"

"I don't think so," Sirius was doubtful. "It was an arranged marriage, not their choice. They got along well enough I suppose, at least enough to have Draco, but I have no idea if there was any love there."

"And she was never a Death Eater," Harry did not ask a question that time but said it as though he was thinking aloud. "She wouldn't be using it to bring back Voldemort. I doubt she's dumb enough to want that. I'm not even sure it would be possible."

"How do you mean?" Sirius was truly interested. Others had told him what they knew of how Harry destroyed Voldemort, but none of the stories had been complete or very detailed. This was yet another way he could get to know Harry better.

"His magic is gone, cleansed, returned to the Earth," Harry said in a faraway voice, like he was thinking deeply. "Bringing back his soul might be a possibility, but even if they repeated the ritual they used last time I think he would be a squib."

Sirius started laughing then. He couldn't help himself. The Dark Lord Voldemort a squib would be hilarious, the ultimate punishment for someone like him. Of course, if his soul returned it would still have all his knowledge which could be passed on others, but he would still be squib, or maybe just a muggle.

"Get some sleep Harry –"

"Padfoot –"

"Take the potion Harry," Sirius used his stern Auror voice for the first time in... well... lots of years. "We'll have a long day tomorrow, possibly capped off with a rescue mission, and you need to be in top form."

"Yes, sir," Harry answered playfully, but Sirius still watched until Harry swallowed the full vial of Dreamless Sleep.

As he fell asleep, a smile on his lips, Sirius remarked to himself that he was getting good at that godfather stuff, even if the godson in question was already a father himself. No matter their age, everyone needed a parental figure now and then.

The two wizards flew to Paris the next morning on a commuter plane, Harry reluctantly thanking Sirius for urging him to use the potion. The dark circles under the younger man's eyes had almost entirely faded and he seemed more aware of his surroundings. The latter might be in part due to his discontinued use of the Raivannin.

This time they did not go to a hotel first thing. Harry decided that it could wait, in case they didn't even need it that night. If enough of his power reserves returned to him, he told Sirius, he might just apparate them both to the Malfoy's Villa where Narcissa had been exiled since the end of Harry's sixth year at Hogwarts. Thanks to the papers at Malfoy Manor Harry knew exactly where it was.

Sirius and Harry had discussed the possibility of a trap, or of Draco fighting the Imperious Curse, if he was indeed under its influence. As seen with Barty Crouch, everyone fought that curse eventually unless they were, like Alastor Moody, kept weakened the entire time. Draco may have had just enough free will to leave those papers where Harry and Sirius could find them.

They entered the Louvre along with the muggle tourists that had lined up outside. Once inside there was path of magic to follow, an extremely difficult task for most wizards, especially under the eyes of the muggles there, and so the library was well protected even from fellow wizards and witches.

Sirius smirked as Harry told him he could easily see a pink thread that wove through the corridors of the museum, past many famous works of muggle art, and into a section of the museum with a sign posted to keep the muggles out.

_Exhibit Under Construction_

Harry shook his head, and told Sirius he was amazed that the muggles who put together the exhibits were fooled by that. Sirius just shrugged and followed Harry, who was following the pink line that Sirius couldn't see, until they came to a plaster wall, blank.

Like entering Diagon Alley, Harry traced a pattern on the wall with his wand and it melted away to reveal a strong oak door, which they opened to step into the library.

The librarian was luckily multilingual and very helpful, telling them that any who actually managed to find the library were entitled to its full services. She set them up at a sturdy table upon which was a candelabrum that held ever-wick no-drip candles, and disappeared into the stacks to retrieve the materials they needed.

"Oh fuck," Harry expressed after more than three hours of research. The librarian looked over with interest, but stayed at her station while Sirius leaned closer to Harry.

Harry twisted the book he was reading and the first thing Sirius noticed was the engraving printed on a full page.

There was a Tower spiraling into the sky. It seemed to direct a smoky substance up its spirals and from its tip straight upwards in a concentrated column to a funnel of cloud. On closer examination though, the smoke was coming _from_ the sky, and spreading out into the city of Babylon from the base of the Tower.

All around the Tower buildings were in ruin. And others, farther away, were in the process of crumbling. A ring of wizards stood around the Tower, hands linked and raised above their heads, chanting. Others were prone on the ground and at spots the circle looked stretched, always near a fallen wizard.

"Oh fuck is right," Sirius whispered, a sense of foreboding creeping into him. "You were right."

Harry nodded slowly and seemed to be making a decision, "We have to go now. We're getting Charlie and we're going back to England and we're going to hopefully destroy that damn stone before some idiot manages to level a city."

"Can I call Remus and prepare them?" Sirius planned to call regardless, but it was better if he had Harry's permission. He didn't want Harry angry with him.

Harry nodded almost absently and waved his wand over the book, his eyes darting towards the librarian to make sure she didn't notice, first creating a copy of the engraving and then obscuring it and its accompanying text, "Some knowledge is too dangerous to be available to anyone who can follow a trail. Wait until we're outside to call. You'll blend in with the muggles."

Sirius agreed and they bade the librarian goodbye. She told them to come back whenever they needed the library and they headed to a cafe outside the museum. Harry got them a small bit of food and some coffee, which he drank nervously while Sirius made his call.

He watched his godson while he waited for Moony to pick up. They had to get out of the city soon. Without the Raivannin Harry would be feeling and seeing everything again and it wouldn't be long before it overwhelmed him.

"Padfoot?" Moony's voice was anxious.

"Hey Moony," Sirius drank some of his coffee. "I only have a minute or so and then we have one stop to make before we head home."

"You're done?" Sirius could hear his friend pulling out parchment and getting ready to take notes. He couldn't help the smile that crossed his face. Remus had hardly changed at all, at least in most ways. He was still Moony, Ravenclaw escapee.

"It's rooted in necromancy Moony. We were all right about that. Picture tearing apart any boundaries and letting all that's evil flood our plane of existence," Sirius kept his voice cheerful to keep muggles from listening in. Harry was starting to shake a bit and he had closed his eyes tightly. "We're sending a copy to you."

"Padfoot?" Remus sounded wary, like he wasn't sure if he was being pranked.

"I have to run Moony," Sirius grinned then, "and I'm dead serious."

He hung up, rather pleased with himself for leaving his best friend speechless and wondering. Still, he got across enough information that they would be prepared in England if someone started using the stone.

Harry was looking increasingly worse and Sirius was concerned.

"Do you trust me Harry?" Sirius asked quietly.

The younger man nodded and Sirius cast a large notice-me-not charm that encompassed both of them. He then took Harry in a big hug and apparated them out of Paris and into the countryside. Sirius had only been to France once in his life, when he was much younger, and he just prayed that the old site of some witch burnings that his family had visited was unchanged, or at least didn't have a building on it.

Harry collapsed to the ground, breathing heavily, and looked up at Sirius, "Were the burnings really like that?"

"Huh?" Sirius found himself saying that a lot around Harry.

"You were thinking about the burnings, saw them in a pensieve, what happened when it was a muggle in the fire instead a witch or wizard with a Flame Freezing Charm," Harry clenched his hands into fists and stood, seemingly holding himself together on strength of will alone.

Sirius nodded, remembering how Harry connected with people, how touch could trigger Empathy. He wished Harry hadn't seen that, but he had needed to get Harry out of the city. This spot was sparsely populated.

"I understand Padfoot," Harry waved away whatever regrets or apologies Sirius had. "Thank you."

"Let's go get Charlie."

Before that though, they had to find a bird that would be willing to deliver a message. Judging by the reaction on Harry's face, neither of them had expected the flash of fire just in front of them.

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	38. Chapter 38

**Chapter Thirty-Eight**

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It was an odd meeting of the Order. For one thing, it wasn't the Inner Circle or the entire Order. There were no Aurors present, but there were a few members that did not usually attend meetings of any sort. Rosmerta, for one, had actually left her pub and was sitting in the garret above the Hogwarts Preparatory Academy, looking very out of place not surrounded by bottles and glasses and chatting with patrons.

Remus stood from his seat and looked over the assembled witches and wizards. He, Severus, and Hermione had agonized over who to ask there that night. They had gone over the strengths and weaknesses of every member, argued for and against many of the people there.

Hagrid was an odd addition, but Hermione's point that his giant blood gave him endurance that no one had been able to tax yet was valid. His magical skill needed work, but he could lend strength if nothing else.

There were two sets of twins there, the Diggory twins and the Weasley twins, because magical twins were stronger than any two other wizards or witches (granted that one of them was not Harry) when they combined their powers to work in concert.

The majority of the Hogwarts staff was there, with the exceptions of Sybil Trelawney, Professor Vector, Professor Sinistra, Professor Durrand of Ancient Runes, and Professor Clemens of Muggle Studies. A team of Aurors was in the school, with Amelia Bones acting as substitute Headmistress for the evening.

In a few of the rooms below them all the children of the couples present were sleeping soundly, with Arabella Figg watching over them. The only exception was the Potter children, who were still at Hogwarts with Tonks as per Harry's wishes.

What was probably seen as the strangest aspect of the meeting thus far was the presence of the nonhumans among them. Dobby and Winky sat together, Dobby bouncing proudly in his seat and Winky looking ashamed. Firenze, though back with his herd, had agreed to take a Portkey there and represent the Centaurs. Three Gringotts goblins occupied the three chairs across from Remus, there as a favor to Remus and Severus, and in part because of the new legislation in the works. Fleur was proudly displaying her Veela heritage, seated next to her husband.

The severity of the meeting was readily apparent to everyone there. Never before had a council of the sort been called – led by a werewolf and including representatives of six nonhuman species. Joseph walked into the room then and made the number of nonhuman species total at seven, calmly sitting down in a chair next to Firenze. If Harry had been able to come it would have been eight, or even nine if they counted his dragon blood, but they would have to do without.

"We are all here," Remus said and any whispers quieted instantly. "As we speak Harry and Sirius are probably rescuing Charlie."

That statement caused an immediate uproar. The Weasley twins jumped up from their seats and started cheering, though George had looked a bit peaked before the meeting started. Remus had already heard the reason for that though. Tonks had forgotten to cast a silencing charm before telling him her news and Remus had been walking by the redhead's quarters.

Simply raising one hand in the air quieted them, though every person in the room with red hair was looking much happier than before Remus spoke. Molly had tears in her eyes.

"We are here because of the possible outcome of the rescue mission," Remus explained clearly. "All of you agreed to help prevent a great threat to our world without knowing how I would ask you to help, or what that threat was. I believe you deserve to know."

Every eye was glued on him. Not even in his classes on the Unforgivable Curses had Remus garnered such undivided and intent concentration from his audience.

"Hermione is monitoring the country for large spikes of power, similar to the way the Ministry tracks underage magic. Should a spike be detected we will be creating Portkeys and immediately transporting ourselves to the site. To understand what might happen there you'll need a bit of background." Remus turned his eyes to single out one of his oldest friends. "Davey, could you tell everyone about the artifact stolen from your house?"

Davey blinked for a moment in surprise but stood and told his story, starting with an introduction, description of his job, and then talking about his dig site in Iraq where he detected a massive amount of dark magic. Harry's reaction and the subsequent theft of the stone finished his story.

Remus took up the telling again, "We have since discovered more or less what the stone is, or I should say that Harry and Sirius discovered this. They have been traveling around Europe visiting the great libraries to research the Fall of Babylon."

Yvonne Diggory burst into peals of laughter. Others were snickering but she was by far the loudest, "Sirius Black is voluntarily entering libraries, as in more than one, and actually reading books there?"

"Yes," Remus smiled at her, sharing her amusement born in their days as Hogwarts students "though you have to give most of the credit for that miracle to Harry. Where he goes, Sirius is following. His dedication as a godfather is far outweighing his distaste for books on something other than quidditch."

Ron and the Weasley twins snickered at that, especially as Ron could easily commiserate with Sirius there.

"While the exact nature of this artifact is unknown, these facts remain," Remus cleared his throat and Ron started paying attention again, even though he had probably heard most of Remus's lecture from Hermione already, and had helped with the planning stages of their response. "The artifact is one of extremely powerful dark magic. That dark magic is somehow related to necromancy. The stone is most likely the only remnant from the Fall of Babylon, which we all know was the result of a massive magical accident."

All of them had been surprised when they arrived at the meeting to see Fawkes perched on Remus's shoulder, preening, but not nearly as surprised as Remus had been when Fawkes appeared in his office. The phoenix had greeted him in such a way that Remus knew, like he knew that Severus was his mate, that Fawkes was offering to bond with him.

The brilliant red bird had come to him only minutes after Sirius ended their call with copies of an engraving and a firsthand account of the Fall of Babylon. Unfortunately the witch who left this information behind was not a participant and so could not give detail. They did not know the purpose behind the magic that destroyed the city, only the results when it got out of control.

A few bright cheeks showed that some of them had not known that historical fact. Remus rolled his eyes. He really wished that Minerva had hired someone to replace Binns. No one at Hogwarts was truly learning history in their history classes.

"Some of you are not actually members of the Order of the Phoenix, though you know what the Order is and what we do," Remus looked in particular at the house elves and goblins. "You are here to represent your fellow beings, and hopefully lend your particular talents to help us curtail any attempt to use the stone, as it is not just wizards and witches that are in danger."

"What would happen?" Longden, one of the goblins, questioned.

"Harry theorized that the stone could be used as a means to rip a tear into whatever it is that separates this world from the next," Remus announced, causing several eyes to widen. "It took fifty wizards to contain the magic that destroyed Babylon. We hope to begin containment, and eventual destruction, before things get as out of hand as they did in ancient times."

Longden bowed and a conversation in Gobbledygook proceeded. The house elves spoke between themselves, surprising all the wizards and witches present with the existence of a house elf language. Remus found himself unable to follow the goblin's conversation in his fascination at the house elves. Firenze neighed and stamped one of his front hoofs a few times.

"Griphook will return with several more goblins to aid in this endeavor," Griphook disappeared, displaying a method of transportation similar to apparition or house elf travel that wizards had not known goblins could accomplish.

Longden bowed to Remus again, and then to Amos Diggory. "The goblin community is very pleased with the proposed legislature concerning magical creatures and we also offer a representative to speak with the Wizengamot and if needed the International Confederation to contribute the opinions of the goblins."

The room was shocked into silence as Diggory stood and returned the formal bow, "I assure you, we would be most honored to include the goblins in the makings of these new laws. Though I may speak only for Britain, I believe I express the views of wizards and witches the world over when I say, may this cooperation be the beginning of a new era of understanding between humans and nonhumans."

The two goblins remaining in the room both bowed to first the Minister, then the remainder of the room.

Dobby bounced in his seat and addressed Minerva, "Will Mistress Headmistress McGonagall order some of the Hogwarts elves to help?"

Minerva looked flustered for a moment but wrote out a note and handed it to Winky, "Please bring this to the Hogwarts kitchens Winky."

"Yes Mistress," Winky squeaked, bowed, and popped away.

Only moments after she was gone Griphook returned with a dozen goblins, all of them actually armed and looking like the goblins out of Binns's lectures rather than those usually found behind the counters at Gringotts. One by one they bowed and greeted the Minister first, and then Remus, speaking in Gobbledygook with Griphook translating. It was an insight into goblin culture that no wizard or witch had experienced for well over two hundred years.

Winky returned with twenty house elves all wearing the Hogwarts crest on their tea towels. The elves all waited by Minerva for orders.

Remus doubted than any of them could have foreseen these results, an enormous step in the relation between the Ministry and the goblins, wizards and house elves, even with the centaurs. Joseph just watched the events unfold with a glint of amusement in his eyes. The vampires had no need for improved relations with wizards, as they would prefer no relations at all. Fleur smiled, the Veelas having interbred with wizards and witches for so long that their rights were less of an issue, but they were still nonhumans.

He felt a bit overwhelmed. It had all started with a suggestion from Hermione that they contact Dobby and Firenze to help with the containment spell. Existing laws prevented creatures with no human blood from using wands, but elves and centaurs did not need wands to work their own unique magic.

The Gringotts goblins got involved because Severus and Remus had gone to the Snape vault to retrieve some texts. In the treaty with the goblins that established Gringotts it was determined that wizards could not use magic within Gringotts unless under certain circumstances. Magic could be used in self-defense or in defense of the Gringotts goblins or fellow wizards. Magic could be used with the express permission of Gringotts goblins. Magic could be used if required by the security placed on a vault.

Remus was with Severus that day because of those guidelines. They could not levitate books out of the vault, shrink them down for ease of carry, or transport them to Hogwarts. One of the books had fallen off the top of Severus's stack as they exited the vault and their goblin escort, Griphook, had picked up the book for them and shown interest in the subject of magic containment.

That had led to discussions with the senior Gringotts goblins and an invitation to the Order meeting.

What began as a desperate attempt to get together a group of magical beings that could prevent catastrophe became a major political coup for the Minister. Diggory might go down in history as the Minister of Magic to unite the magical beings of Britain.

Remus's phone rang then and he left it to Severus to explain in more detail what they would need each group of beings to do to help contain the magic of the stone once it was released. There would have to be a bit of reorganizing to accommodate the new arrivals.

A glance at the screen of the phone told him who the caller was and Remus hurried to the other side of the room, setting a privacy sphere so no one would hear the conversation. The results could be explosive in that room if the news was bad.

"Sirius?" Remus answered the call. "Where are you? How are they?"

"You have to get back to Hogwarts Remus," Sirius was practically yelling into his phone. There was quite a bit of noise in the background, what sounded like a woman screaming. "The Malfoys are after Snape. Get back there now!"

"Harry? Charlie?" Remus tried to get something out of his best friend. "Damn you Sirius don't hang up on me again!"

The screaming got louder, and there was some yelling as well, "I have to go!"

The call ended and Remus felt like yelling himself. Sirius could have at least told him if Harry and Charlie were alive. He dropped the sphere and returned to the group.

"Flea-bitten, mangy mutt," Remus grumbled.

"That's my line," Severus told him plainly, though he was clearly intrigued.

Remus shot him a look that should have told him everything, "The Hogwarts staff has to return to the school immediately. Narcissa and Draco may be on their way there." He explained a bit further.

At that every professor jumped to their feet and headed to the fireplace. The house elves all disappeared in the same instant, as though their movements were coordinated.

Severus pulled Remus aside though, as the Order members and guests began talking amongst themselves, "What do they want with me?"

"I don't know," Remus practically growled. The thought of the Malfoys trying to take Severus away was getting the wolf rather upset and angry. "He didn't say. He didn't say much of anything."

"No news on Harry?" Severus's already dark eyes seemed to darken.

Remus shook his head.

"None," Remus fought back a growl. He was much better at controlling the wolf than he had been even five years before. "There was a woman screaming, and some shouting, but I couldn't hear either of them. Sirius was in a rush for some reason."

Severus frowned and Remus knew exactly what he was thinking. The Malfoys had most likely just left wherever Sirius was, and Harry wouldn't have just let them get away, especially if they had the stone. Of course, Harry could be on the Raivannin. Charlie could still be alive and well.

"Don't believe anything they tell you," Remus whispered to Severus, who nodded.

"They won't get anywhere near the children," Severus said with determination. "Draco knows where our quarters are. I'll wait for them outside, as if I'm patrolling."

"Be careful," Remus looked into Severus's eyes to find the reassurance the wolf needed.

Severus kissed him firmly, mindless of the others in the room, "I am always careful. Can you find me through our bond?" Remus nodded. "Have Hermione pay attention to wherever they take me then. Neither of the Malfoys is stupid. They know they cannot control that stone without help."

They clasped hands tightly, briefly, and Severus left through the Floo Network. Remus slowly returned to the table and took his seat. He wanted to be at Hogwarts. His instincts told him to be at Hogwarts to protect his mate and the cubs, but he was the leader of the Order and could not leave.

All the Order could do then was wait. Remus let his head drop as he fought for control. The wolf would not get his way that night, not yet, and the Malfoys would regret messing with a werewolf's pack. With the promise that the time would come to fight, the wolf backed down and let Remus keep his precious control.

Just then Remus missed Albus more than ever. He could use some advice, some of the vast knowledge of the former headmaster. Remus's head snapped up.

"I can't believe we forgot," Remus said aloud. He looked around the room. "I'll be downstairs briefly. If you need me try Harry's office."

He didn't look at reactions or wait for comments. Remus spun as he got up from his chair and went out the door and down the stairs. Harry's office was two floors below the Order meeting room, and luckily the door was unlocked. Remus pushed it open and stepped inside.

"Good evening Remus. Would you like a lemon drop?"

Remus almost asked the portrait just how he was able to offer anyone candy, but he smelled the lemon candies that Albus had loved. On Harry's desk was a dish of them, and Albus's blue eyes twinkled from his portrait.

He carefully took a drop from the dish and put it in his mouth. The Energizing Elixir in the drops was immediately apparent and most welcome.

"Hello Albus."

There were several chairs in the office, and Remus sat in one that faced the portrait.

"How are you doing my boy?"

He almost laughed, and at the same time felt an urge to cry. It was Albus, two dimensional and constrained to a gilded frame, but Albus nonetheless.

Wizarding portraits were odd things. In many ways they kept history alive. Should every book on history spontaneously combust, chances were they could all be rewritten with the stored information in portraits. There was also a danger to them. It was easy to hold onto the dead by spending too much time with their portrait.

"I have been better Albus."

"No one has come to see me since I died."

That was an odd enough statement, but portraits and ghosts tended to take the deaths of their true bodies rather easily.

Remus bowed his head, "Harry has been... busy... and distraught. You left us just before a right mess started Albus."

The twinkle disappeared just as it would have were Albus actually there, sitting across the desk from Remus, "Tell me child."

And Remus did. He explained everything that had happened since Albus died, eliciting a variety of reactions... congratulations, sorrow, and finally pensive thought.

"You are going to try to combine human and nonhuman magic and have one person channel it to weave a ward to contain this ancient magic?" Albus questioned him, a lemon drop visible as a slight bump in one cheek.

With a nod Remus elaborated, "I'll be the conduit. The theory is that I have both human and nonhuman aspects and so will be able to manipulate the energies of our nonhuman contributors, along with the best knowledge of wards."

The portrait was nodding slowly, "It may be possible. You have not tested this?"

"I dare not," Remus admitted. "We may expand too much energy right before we are needed and then not have enough to contain the object. There is also the possibility that I will be injured in the process, and I would rather sustain injury while accomplishing something."

The portrait sighed, "You do not need my advice Remus. You have answered all the questions yourself."

Remus smiled gratefully and blinked back tears, "Thank you Albus."

"Now track your mate," Albus ordered. "He will have allowed himself to be captured for no reason if you do not use it."

The portrait Albus left his frame, possibly to return to Hogwarts. Minerva had his portrait there in her office with the rest of the former Headmasters of Hogwarts, and there were others set to go up all over the country. Harry was even considering putting one in Potter Manor, as Albus was an honorary family member, and the other portraits would surely enjoy his company.

In the quiet of the office Remus focused on his bond with Severus. He recalled the scent, the taste, the sound, the feel, the sight of his mate. He reached within himself to the wolf and urged Moony to find Severus.

It did not take long, and a familiar sight soon greeted Remus's eyes. He had not seen the veil in the Department of Mysteries for many years, but he would never forget it. Familiar pain flooded through him and Remus had to reassure himself that Sirius was alive, that he had just spoken to him.

_Before the veil stood Narcissa Malfoy with Draco next to her. He was holding a stone in his hands. Remus felt himself sneering at them._

_"Black fell into that damned thing Narcissa," Severus snarled. "He was _never_ dead. The ritual I used cannot be repeated, aside from which it included a potion component that I don't carry with me, and required many other symbolic gestures and emotions that are not present. If Charlie is dead, which I highly doubt as you are still alive, I would not be able to retrieve him, nor would I want to. Necromancy has horrible results Narcissa. Whatever I recovered would not be Charlie." _

That was all Remus needed. He pulled back and called Hermione to notify her of their location, and then ran up to the meeting room. There was not a chance in hell he was revealing everything he heard. Molly would be frantic, thinking another of her sons had died.

"Fred, call your twin," Remus ordered firmly. All heads turned towards him. "We are going to the Ministry. Nico, Hestia, we need to get into the room with the veil, or possibly just outside it if they've already started."

Both Unspeakables flinched. Necromancy itself was disgusting, a crime against nature, but using it in conjunction with the veil and that stone could very well have consequences beyond what anyone imagined.

The Hogwarts professors were returning and Amos Diggory set to work on the Floo Connection. As Minister he had the authority to connect any fireplaces and set the Order fireplace to access his own in the Ministry.

"Gather in the Minister's office and we will all go down to the Department of Mysteries together," Remus told them. "Filius, please make some Portkeys for anyone who cannot use the Floo."

He took a deep breath and tossed a handful of powder into the fire, "Ministry of Magic, Office of the Minister!"

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	39. Chapter 39

**Chapter Thirty-Nine**

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"Well, here we are again," Sirius said, defeated.

"Not quite."

"How?"

"Dobby can't help us."

"Hmph."

The Malfoy's Chateau was not far away, but with the level of wards in place it could have been halfway around the world. Like Malfoy Manor it was an impressive building, though not due to sheer mass and fortitude.

The Chateau was delicate and attractive. It had complex decorative scrollwork and more flowers than in the Hogwarts greenhouses. The house itself was painted in a variety of well-matched pastel colors, which had to be perfect for the Mediterranean sun. Sirius had to admit he thought it a beautiful structure.

"Ever been splinched Siri?" Harry asked him.

Sirius looked at his godson carefully. The green eyes were calculating. They had come at nighttime, just in case they had a chance of catching the household asleep and off guard.

"Noooooo," Sirius dragged out his response warily.

"I'll do my best to keep it that way."

Sirius was just a little confused, "I thought you stopped taking the Raivannin."

"I did," Harry nodded, "but there's a residue of it in my system. It will be a week at least before it all flushes out with how much I've taken. Until then I won't be at full power. My barriers are mostly gone, but they flicker in sometimes. We're lucky there's almost no one around here."

Harry grasped Sirius's arm and squeezed tightly, probably as much to reassure himself as to reassure his passenger. For a jump of only a few feet it was the most nerve-racking apparition Sirius had ever experienced. He had never been a fan of tandem apparition, even if what Harry did wasn't exactly apparition.

He shivered in discomfort, but they were already on the other side of the wards.

"Let's get back home some other way," Sirius suggested. He didn't like the chance of getting splinched at all.

Harry rolled his eyes, "If we do this right you can apparate home on your own magic. It won't matter anymore if they can trace us."

"Right," Sirius nodded. For so many years he had to evade the Ministry and he had just fallen back into those habits. It was strange that he was able to apparate anywhere he wanted.

He looked up at the Chateau again and saw no lights or movement in any windows. Of course, there were several basic privacy charms that prevented anyone outside from seeing in.

There was a soft popping noise and a shaking house elf stood before them.

"The Mistress would like to invite you to see her, Sirs," the house elf bowed just slightly, the shaking not subsiding at all.

Harry lowered himself to his knees so his gaze was level with the elf's large eyes, "Do not fear. We will cooperate. There is no reason to punish yourself or fear your Mistress's wrath."

The shaking slowed just a bit and the elf offered Harry a tentative smile. Sirius marveled, wondering if it was the Empathy, or if Harry had just had a gift for putting house elves and other creatures at ease.

The younger man stood again, "Just lead us to your Mistress."

Sirius had his wand out and firmly grasped as they followed the elf into the house and down a tastefully decorated hall. No one would guess that a traditionally dark family owned the house. It did not in the least resemble Grimmauld Place as Sirius had known the townhouse when he was growing up.

"At least we don't have to worry about disassembling booby traps," Sirius joked lightly.

Harry lifted an eyebrow, and gave Sirius a tight smile, clearly not feeling the least bit happy, "I wasn't particularly looking forward to that myself."

Sirius stopped talking and observed Harry as they started to head down a flight of stone steps, certainly headed towards a basement, or dungeon level. Harry's eyes were narrowed and he was breathing a little harshly.

"Anna is upstairs somewhere, and not at all pleased. I think the children are with her, and they're frightened," Harry whispered to Sirius, who nodded, filing the information away for later.

It was looking like Narcissa was the engineer behind everything going on after all, even if that did not make much sense to Sirius. His cousin was bright, or had been when they were younger, but she had never been a leader. Belletrix was the dominant of the two sisters. Narcissa had been raised to be the perfect wife, obedient, prim and most importantly subservient.

"What are we walking into?" Sirius said as quietly as he could.

Harry looked at Sirius carefully, "Can't tell yet... too much ambient magic." Harry shook his head and paused on the stairs, almost at the bottom. "Hate... anticipation... sick, twisted... dark so dark"

Sirius remembered what Severus and Charlie had told him, how touch could trigger the Empathy. He tried to keep himself calm and took Harry's hand in his, "Focus on me Harry. Focus on me."

His godson gripped his hand so tightly Sirius swore he felt bones pressing against each other. He tried to keep calm feelings though, tried to quell his own rising anxiety, both for Harry and himself, and for Charlie.

"Thanks Siri."

"Anytime Cub, anytime."

The house elf curtsied outside a door, the only thing Sirius had ever discovered that identified gender in house elves without asking them. After all, he wasn't about to go lifting up their tea towels to see what was underneath.

"The Mistress is waiting inside."

She was gone then, with a little 'pop'. Sirius reached for the door but Harry held out a restraining hand. He cocked his head to the side and seemed to be focusing on something just in front of the door.

"There are wards on the room," Harry said softly. "They already know we're out here, but if we go in without dismantling them we'll be knocked out and tied up."

"Narcissa is not the woman I want tying me up," Sirius quipped, hoping that if he injected some humor Harry would feel it.

Harry did make a face, and then reached out towards the door, but his hands stopped in front of it at chest level rather than grasping the knob. His fingers closed around something that Sirius couldn't see and he watched in fascination as Harry moved his hands around as if untying a complicated knot.

"Damn...," Harry was frowning then. "Oh they already know we're here. Fuck it."

He yanked his hands back towards his chest and Sirius saw a flash. He covered his eyes and when he opened them everything looked the same.

"Are the wards gone?"

"Yep," Harry replied. He waved his hand past the doorknob and it turned, the door opening inwards.

Sirius wasn't sure what he expected to see in the room. Maybe he thought it would be a torture chamber or at least a cell, but there was a somewhat comfortable looking bedroom. The bedcovers were mussed and the book on the nightstand was creased heavily as if it was read over and over again.

On the far side of the room though was what they sought. Narcissa stood behind Charlie Weasley, who had a vacant look in his eyes and sweat on his brow. He looked like he was having trouble staying on his feet. When his eyes locked with Harry's awareness returned even for a tiny bit and they widened and brightened.

Next to Sirius Harry tensed and Sirius could swear he heard Harry's teeth grinding.

Narcissa was staring at them, and next to her was Draco, who wasn't looking at anything in particular. He had a haughty, bored look on his face and was playing with something in a pocket of his robe, his wand held loosely at his side, close to his mother.

"Good evening Cousin, how nice to see you alive," Narcissa said in a sickly sweet tone. "I never expected you to sink to the level of practicing necromancy Potter, but it did end up serving my purposes."

Harry's wand was back in his pocket and his hands were at his sides, ready for movement, "I didn't. Give me Charlie and you can leave. Hurt him and you die."

Sirius had never heard Harry speak with such cold authority and he believed every word the younger man spoke. Harry would kill Narcissa and Draco if they so much as harmed Charlie.

"Harry...," Charlie spoke with obvious difficulty.

Narcissa hissed something Sirius couldn't hear and Charlie's back arched. Her wand had to be pressed against the small of his back. She was using him as a human shield against Harry and Sirius. They couldn't curse her without hitting Charlie first, and wouldn't have time to cast more than one spell. She would be able to kill Charlie before they got her.

"You couldn't even convince your son to willingly join your cause Narcissa," Harry said, his voice still cold and calm. "How long have you had him under Imperious?"

Sirius looked at Harry in surprise. How on earth did Harry know? Neither Harry nor Narcissa was really paying attention to him, their battle just between the two of them. Draco was ignoring everything happening and Charlie was having enough trouble standing and focusing on Harry.

"What is Charlie drugged with?" Harry asked Sirius's cousin. "How did you block our bond?"

Narcissa smirked, "Do you know what an overdose of Raivannin does? Or what happens when mixed with mind control potions? The idiot who designed the potion turned several wizards into squibs permanently before he got the mixture right. He also managed to drive quite a few of them insane. Your bondmate here is getting very close to the latter."

Sirius was getting very uncomfortable. There was magic pulsing off of Harry, and it felt very aggressive. If it let go without Harry's control, which the younger wizard did not have much of, it could cause a lot of damage.

Forgetting altogether about his offensive options, Sirius prepared to cast the strongest shield he was capable of. He started weaving wards around his body and hoped that Harry's magic would recognize Charlie and not strike at him.

"Just give me the stone and Charlie and go," Harry growled, his eyes flashing dangerously.

"Oh so you want the stone now too?" Narcissa question silkily. Her eyes hardened, "You are in no position to demand anything Potter. I am well aware of why my husband was killed. He would be alive today if it were not for you."

Harry snorted, and Sirius knew he was missing something, "Lucius brought about his own death. You do know he cast the Cruciatus on Draco repeatedly. Remus and Dad stopped him. Your son was saved by a _werewolf_ Narcissa. He was about to kill Dad, and do you know who cast the killing curse on that arrogant son of a bitch you married?

"It was Pettigrew! Your husband was killed by a weak little Gryffindor who turned his wand on himself after," Harry spat out viciously and Sirius had stopped his wards. He was staring at his godson and cousin, both of them seething with anger, sparks going off all around Harry, the air itself charged with his magic.

"Severus would have killed him if Pettigrew hadn't," Narcissa tried to justify.

Harry wasn't arguing though, and Sirius felt the magic building even stronger, "And do you know why? Do you know how much of a sick fuck your husband was? Dad killed Avery and McNair and Lucius was next because they _raped_ me!"

Sirius was shocked to say the least. That was one piece of information no one had told him, and he wondered how many people knew. Snape clearly did, and Charlie had to know... but they might have been the only ones. Little pieces of the mystery that was Harry were falling into place, like why Harry flinched away from touch, especially when his barriers were a mess.

Narcissa was practically spitting then, "And you deserved it you little brat. You destroyed everything we worked for!"

"Who is controlling the dementors Narcissa?" Harry yelled.

"I am!" she claimed victoriously. "Do you think my Lord would have entrusted one of his little Marked soldiers to be his Secret Keeper? Everyone knew who they were. But no one suspected me! I keep his fortress secret. I keep his dementors hidden. I offered them the souls they needed and the vampires the blood they craved and _I_ will bring the Dark Lord back and he will reign with my husband by his side and me in the shadows wielding more power than you could ever dream of!"

Sirius just let his jaw drop. She was demented, utterly insane. It had to run in the family he decided, and wondered how he and Andromeda had avoided it. Draco had not changed at all, not reacted to the screaming in any way, but there was sweat streaming down Charlie's face as he seemed to be fighting something. It was possible they were both under Imperious.

"You could never mastermind this Narcissa," Harry mocked. Was he buying Charlie time or fishing for more information? "You were never smart enough or powerful enough to lead the dark forces. You don't have the power now."

"You won't get any more from me little baby Potter, but I have everything I needed from you. I know who released my dear little cousin now, and who I need to harness the power at my disposal," Narcissa taunted, sounding eerily like Belletrix. "Within hours our plans will be finalized. I will have my husband and sister back, and the Dark Lord will return to reign over all of you pathetic little fools. Now Draco!"

The younger Malfoy's wand joined his mothers, pressed into Charlie's back.

_Reducto!_

"Nooooo!" Harry screamed as a flash of light erupted behind Charlie and shot straight through his stomach.

Narcissa and Draco were gone, Portkeyed to somewhere.

Charlie's eyes, still not focused properly, widened, almost all whites, and his head dropped down to look at his midsection and then up again at Harry. A mess of red, what had once been organs and skin and bone and who knew what else had splattered onto the floor. Sirius could see right through Charlie to the opposite wall as Charlie fell.

Harry sprang into action before Sirius could even think. He raced forward and caught Charlie before he hit the floor. His hand waved and all the red mess on the floor gathered together and flew back to Charlie's body, though even Harry's spell could not rearrange it to resemble what it once was.

Sirius remained frozen in place. There was nothing he could do for Charlie, nothing anyone could do. Before long he would have to move and pull Harry away from his bondmate, find some way to comfort him, but he couldn't bring himself to do anything yet. Tears were falling down his cheeks unheeded.

"Please Charlie," Harry was sobbing as he fumbled at his robes with one hand while the other gently lowered Charlie to the floor. "Please don't leave me."

Charlie blinked, but when he opened his mouth all that came out was a stream of blood. He could not even cough, as his diaphragm was shredded somewhere in the mess of his stomach.

The whole room glowed red then, as Harry pulled a vial out of his pocket and Sirius recognized the glow. It was the same glow he had seen in Potter Manor, the one caused by the Elixir of Life. He felt his eyes pop wide open and hope filled his chest with a warm sensation.

Harry poured the liquid onto Charlie's stomach, and the red glowing potion swirled and mixed with bloodied mess. It took only a few moments, but soon there was taught freckled skin with no sign of injury.

It wasn't enough though. There was still blood dripping from Charlie's mouth and Harry was pleading with him, desperate. Charlie lifted an arm and his hand cupped Harry's cheek, leaving a red smear on the paled skin.

Another red glowing vial was produced and Harry poured the contents into Charlie's mouth, stroking his throat to help him swallow. Harry was near hysterical, and Sirius found he still could not move. What he was witnessing shouldn't be possible. No one could recover from two combined blasting curses fired directly against their back.

Charlie blinked and his hand on Harry's cheek tightened and moved back to grip Harry's neck. His eyes squeezed shut and his back arched, his face taught with silent pain. Harry was crying and babbling, and Sirius thought he heard curses in at least five different languages.

Then Charlie relaxed, and for a moment Sirius thought it hadn't worked, but the redhead's eyes opened and they were clear, free from whatever Narcissa had done to him. Charlie pulled Harry down and they were kissing. Something happened to Harry, and his magic was released, knocking Sirius back into the wall, his head smacking the stones.

He saw stars, or at least there were small flashes of light before his eyes. Sirius rubbed the back of his head where it hit the wall and surveyed the damage to the room. The bed had been tossed and hit the magical window, shattering it so that visible beyond the outdoor scene of a brightly lit garden were the stones of the Chateau's foundation.

Harry and Charlie had reversed position somewhat and were apparently untouched by the release of magic. Charlie was sitting, cradling Harry, who was still crying, clinging to Charlie like a lifeline, which Charlie truly was for Harry.

"Concentrate Harry," Charlie was whispering. "Concentrate on me, on our bond."

It wasn't working. Harry was completely taken by grief, and Sirius knew it was not only from the near loss of Charlie just then. Everything from the past few months had piled up and was being released all at once.

Nonetheless, Harry had some awareness of his surroundings. His head snapped up at the same time Charlie's did, and Charlie turned to Sirius, "Go upstairs. Anna needs you... and you might want to call Remus and warn someone that the Malfoys are about to let all Hell loose, and Draco is under Imperious, and they'll be going after Severus."

Sirius nodded and felt a flush start to rise on his cheeks as Charlie turned back to Harry. The redhead was divesting Harry of his robes while wriggling out of his own. He had latched his mouth onto Harry's and frantic despair and pain was turning into frantic passion.

He turned and fled from the room. One of the many things Sirius never needed to see in his life was his godson being taken roughly on a stone floor, which was probably the only way Charlie could reassert their bond. Trying to banish the image from his mind, Sirius took the stairs two or three at a time.

Once he reached the main floor he knew he wouldn't need to a house elf to show him where the younger Mrs. Malfoy was. All he had to do was follow the screams.

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	40. Chapter 40

**Chapter Forty**

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"What kind of flowers did you say you wanted on the tables?" Toby asked Ginny as he flipped through a dragonhide bound book which had once contained blank parchment and was quickly filled with wedding plans, clippings, drawings. As Toby had no remaining family, Ginny was getting the magical wedding of her dreams with no need to hide anything odd from distant muggle relations.

Ginny shook her head to clear it and looked at her fiancé, "What?"

"Gin," Toby put the book down, pulled her towards him and started massaging her shoulders. They were in his London apartment, seated on one of the softest couches Ginny had ever encountered. "We can postpone until they get back. I would never dream of having our wedding without _all_ your family there."

A single tear escaped. Toby knew her so well, knew her mind had been on Charlie and Harry and not their wedding plans, "I know. Thank you... I just..."

"You're worried about them," Toby hugged her close and kissed the top of her head. He was at least five inches taller than her, tall as Ginny was, and she loved it, loved being able to tuck her head under his when they hugged. "It's natural to be worried, but I'm sure they'll be fine. Harry would kill half of Europe if he had to in order to get Charlie back."

Ginny let herself smile, though the image was rather gruesome, "That's not exactly comforting. Harry couldn't live with himself if he did something like that."

"He won't have to," Toby said with confidence that Ginny did not have.

Not for the first time she wondered at his field experience. He was about the same age as Bill, actually a little older, an age difference that most muggles looked down on, but wasn't a big deal in the wizarding world. Toby had told her once that he had been a field agent before taking the assignment as liaison to the wizarding world. Ginny had battle experience, but very little in the way of missions. Toby most likely knew much better than she did exactly what kind of situation Harry was facing.

"You always know –" Ginny was cut off by a warm feeling in her pocket. She pulled out a small mirror and looked at the image it presented. "Fuck."

"You have to go," Toby leaned back and sighed.

Ginny smiled at him fondly, "Yeah. I'll come back here when I'm done and let you know what's going on."

"You better Weasley," Toby stood with her and kissed her firmly.

She patted her battle dress robes, ensuring that all her weapons were in place, and prepared to apparate out of his apartment, "Oh and Toby... I want lilacs on the tables. Neville can take care of it for us."

He grinned at her as she disappeared, traveling to the Ministry gathering point. There was a senior Auror there briefing everyone as they came in and sending them off.

"It's an attack on a combination muggle and magic neighborhood," Auror Diangiano spoke loudly and clearly. "Apparate to just south of Godric's Hollow and engage the enemy. Remember people, some of those vampires are on our side. Go for the dementors, and shoot to destroy. Burn as many as you can."

Ginny made sure she heard the entire brief before he began repeating his words over again. Godric's Hollow... she was so thankful her nieces and nephews were at Hogwarts where they were safe from the attack, with Tonks there guarding them while Severus and Remus were at an Order meeting, and Amelia sitting in Minerva's office just in case. Her stomach sank then. Neville and Luna lived just south of Potter Manor.

Ginny apparated again, feeling mildly scrambled by the quick successive apparitions, but adjusting quickly as Aurors were trained to do. They couldn't always afford the traditional waiting time between jumps.

She had never seen anything like it. There were already a few Aurors down, and the ones fighting didn't have time to take care of their fallen colleagues. The sky was full of floating black beings... dementors... and the air was cold and there were screams upon screams, though not just those from the battle.

On the ground Ginny saw a sight that no wizards or witches had witnessed for hundreds of years. Dark creature fought dark creature. Vampires were moving faster than any human possibly could and grappling with each other. Most of them had swords and several were missing limbs but still fighting. Some of them were feeding off each other, an odd intimacy in the midst of a brutal battle, and strangely alluring.

Ginny raised her wand and cried out, _Expecto Patronum!_

Her happy memory was easy to bring to mind. She remembered when Toby proposed, down on one knee in the Edinburgh Botanical Garden. Ginny had brought him there to show him the magical section of the gardens and he had asked her to marry him by the Fire Lilies, which were in bloom and proudly flaming.

A magnificent silvery phoenix burst out of her wand. Ginny was well aware that she saw Harry as her protector, and she had ever since he saved her life in the Chamber of Secrets. It had been no surprise to anyone who knew that story when her Patronus took his form.

She was not the only Auror directing a glowing silver animal at the dementors. She could see well over two dozen of them.

Other Aurors, those who could not produce a Patronus, were sending white hot flames at the dementors, and one by one they were bursting into fire and crumbling into dust.

Still, there were too many dementors. It was almost overpowering, and then Ginny saw something she hadn't expected. She recognized one of the Patronuses. It was a crumple horned snorcack.

_Expecto Patronum!_

_Expecto Patronum!_

_Expecto Patronum!_

Three more voices cried out from Longbottom Manor and Ginny heard gasps from some of the older Aurors.

"Frank... Alice..."

It couldn't be... Ginny almost lost her concentration and heard screams increasing in volume, then the slithering of a snake pressing in on her, but she focused and poured all her energy into her Patronus.

"Get down there and get the muggles safe!"

A team of Aurors ran past Ginny, their necks wrapped in dragon hide collars and wooden stakes in one hand with their wands in the other. They joined in the battle with the vampires, with the main goal of getting any noncombatants caught in the mix to the safety of their homes.

She spotted Neville standing on the roof of Longbottom Manor with Luna beside them and a frail looking couple with white hair behind them. All four of them had their wands pointed at the sky, their silvery Patroni aiding those of the Aurors.

Ginny directed her phoenix to corral the dementors to the center of the town, over the battling vampires, where the other Aurors could destroy them. Once, the Ministry would have captured any dementors and attempted to control them, but those times were long passed. The days of Fudge's weak policies were over. Minister Diggory had authorized the Aurors to eliminate all dementors. Human guards would suffice for Azkaban.

From well over two hundred dementors they were down to perhaps fifty, and several Aurors released their Patronuses and collapsed in exhaustion. Ginny held on, along with at least a dozen others and the Longbottoms.

She chanced glancing down to the vampires, trying to gauge which side was winning. It was almost impossible to tell. The vampires helping the Ministry had allowed themselves to be Marked by temporary magical tattoo on one hand, but in the speed of their movements it was too hard to see which ones were Marked.

She spotted Joseph though, and saw him twist the head of another vampire, literally ripping it off his body. Some vampires were surrounded by several others of their kind, and it looked like their fight was winding down.

Joseph paused and surveyed the field himself, seemingly satisfied with what he saw. He turned towards the Aurors on the hill where Ginny was located and approached them much more slowly than necessary, assuring they did not identify him as a threat, his hand with the Ministry of Magic seal visible the entire time.

"We are nearly done here," Joseph told them and bowed. "Burn the corpses thrice over and obliterate the remains. Leave nothing to chance, and allow no blood to spill on the ashes. We are leaving one rogue alive. He will carry the message to any others that remain that we will not tolerate the exposure and subsequent extermination of our kind."

Joseph bowed again and any Auror there still standing and not concentrating on the few remaining dementors bowed respectfully in return. They all knew that without Joseph and his fellow vampires they would not have succeeded at more than driving the attackers away, only to have them attack yet again, and with a much higher loss of life.

With a grin Joseph nodded at Ginny and she nodded back, "I must go check on my children."

His words were spoken to her alone, and he disappeared from their sight, moving faster than their eyes could follow. Several of her colleagues gave her odd looks which she shrugged off. Ginny could explain Joseph's connection to the wizarding world later if it was necessary.

The muggles were all back in their homes and wizards stood at each door in the small village, ensuring their safety. A team was burning the remains of the vampires that fell on both sides of their battle, all the surviving dark creatures already gone. The Aurors had only Joseph's assurance that their side won that battle, and that would have to suffice unless contrary evidence surfaced.

Her phoenix returned to her, his work done, and Ginny reached out a hand to feel the comfort from him that she associated with Harry, much more an older brother than a crush, ever since her fourth year at Hogwarts when she started to see more 'Harry' and less 'The-Boy-Who-Lived'.

Ginny was not the only Auror who made a path straight to Longbottom Manor. When she got there she made her way to the front of the crowd, her close friendship with Neville and Luna working to her advantage.

The front door opened to the crowd of Aurors and Neville stepped out. There were others behind him, but the lighting in the main hall was too dim for them to be identified. Neville was blushing and he shifted from foot to foot, showing the nervousness he was so well known for.

Ginny broke the ice but stepping forward and hugging him tightly, "Thank you so much for helping Nev. I recognized your Patronus, and Luna's as well."

"Yeah... well... um," Neville stammered, his cheeks bright red.

One of the older Aurors stepped forward, only one of very few left that had fought in the first war against Voldemort. His face showed an almost desperate hope and his eyes were bright.

"Neville," Auror Linden spoke hesitantly, as if afraid to voice his suspicion, "was that... are they...?"

Ginny could hear talking behind her, and Amelia's voice among them. Minerva must have returned to Hogwarts and relieved Amelia sometime during the attack. The Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement came through the crowd and awaited an answer from the Head of Longbottom... or maybe now the Heir. Neville bit his lower lip and shifted again.

"I started using Legilimency on them on Christmas Day, and checked them out of Mungo's that same day," he admitted to the collective shock of the Aurors assembled there.

Amelia stepped closer to Neville and put a hand on his arm, "You are within your rights to do so Neville. Did it work?"

"It keeps getting better," Neville's face lit up in a wide smile then. "They're with us for longer and longer almost every day now."

More than one Auror there had tears falling, Amelia no exception. Ginny knew she had been a young Auror when the Longbottoms were attacked, about ten years older than them.

Neville stepped to the side then, and Luna stepped forward, supporting a witch on one arm and a wizard on the other. Both their faces were thin and their skin pale. Their hair was prematurely white, but their smiles were young.

"Alice?" Amelia stepped forward and was met by the younger witch with a tearful embrace.

"Frank!" Linden started laughing, and Frank joined in, grabbing his fellow Auror in a tight hug.

Soon nearly every Auror was rejoicing and hugging the Longbottoms, even those who never met them before. The attack on them and the result was well known in the department, and the deaths of their attackers had been met with a grim satisfaction at the end of the war and many a toast to Neville for his part in those deaths.

It wasn't long though before Luna, with that odd sense of hers, was directing Frank and Alice back inside, and Ginny saw that the elder Longbottom couple were starting to sag a bit, their eyes getting cloudy.

Amelia noticed as well, "Where are the Olbiviators? We have a whole village of muggles that witnessed a fight between two factions of vampires and the destruction of almost three hundred dementors!"

The Aurors and Hit Wizards jumped into action and several apparated away to call in the Obliviators. Others returned to cleaning up the mess left behind by the vampires.

"Did that seem... almost too easy to you?" Ginny asked Amelia.

Amelia gave her a disbelieving look, "Too easy? Three Aurors were killed tonight!"

"Yes," Ginny didn't want to seem callous, but the talk from the Order meetings was gnawing at her conscious, "but, is this it? This is all whoever was controlling the dementors wanted? We have no word of an attack by wizards, and nearly every Auror and Hit Wizard employed by the Ministry is here."

Two different rings sounded then, and Ginny and Amelia exchanged looks. They pulled out their Order phones and read the long message displayed on their screens.

"Is that enough for you?" Amelia asked, looking a little pale. Ginny nodded blankly, not quite believing what she was seeing. "I have to get to the Ministry and make sure this is contained."

Amelia apparated away and Ginny's phone rang again, only this time it was a direct call.

"Sirius? How are they?" Ginny demanded first thing. She heard screaming in the background and tensed herself.

"They're fine... I'm sure... I think... last I saw they were... um... erg... don't make me say it," Sirius's voice managed to convey extreme disgust and Ginny started to laugh with relief.

It was the best news she could possibly hear, even if she didn't need the image of her brother and Harry having sex. She had walked in on it enough when she was living with them.

The screaming was still there though, "Sirius what in the name of Merlin is going on wherever you are?"

"Ah... do you know how to deliver a baby Ginny? It's Draco's wife," Sirius asked her, beyond uncomfortable.

She was tempted to snicker again. From the stories she heard, Sirius had been in the room when Harry was born even if his only purpose there was to increase the confusion and havoc of the entire process. Apparently he hadn't learned anything about birthing that night.

"I've had some experience with it Sirius, but wouldn't Poppy be a better choice?" Ginny knew she should ask several questions rather than teasing, but she just couldn't help herself.

"Hogwarts has almost no staff there right now," Sirius's voice was interrupted briefly by a loud scream. By the sound of it the contractions were still far enough apart that it wasn't quite an emergency.

"Sorry," Ginny remembered the message she had just read. "I'll stop at Mungo's and get a Healer to bring with me. Anna wasn't due for a few weeks I think. The babies are early."

"Babies?" Sirius's voice was raspy, "As in more than one?"

"Twins Padfoot," Ginny grinned, "quite a common occurrence with us wizards and witches. Tell me where you are, make sure the Floo is open, and I'll be there within about half an hour."

She could almost hear him nodding at the other end, "Malfoy Chateau, Cote d'Azur, France. Is there anything I should do?"

"Just try to keep her comfortable," Ginny thought for a moment, trying to remember what she could of the Malfoy family. "Are the other children there?"

"I had a house elf take them to the other side of the house and watch after them," Sirius said, much to Ginny's relief.

"Good," Ginny hung up the phone and dialed again.

"Ginny?"

"Toby," Ginny smiled. "I'm okay. Everything turned out fine, but I won't be home for a while. I have to go France, help deliver some babies, and make sure Harry and Charlie are okay. I should be back in the morning."

Toby had taken so much in stride recently, and Ginny was thankful once more that this muggle she fell in love with was so accepting of her world, "Ooo-kay Gin. I'll ask my millions of questions when I see you. Love you."

"Love you too."

Ginny smiled as she ended that call and sent a message to Amelia, Severus, Remus, and Tonks that she was off to check on Harry and Charlie and would let them know how they were.

She cast a few cleaning charms on herself, took a deep breath, and apparated once more that night, headed for St. Mungo's to find a Healer that was willing to go to France with her to deliver the newest Malfoys.

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	41. Chapter 41

**Chapter Forty-One**

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"It is presumptuous to play with that which you do not understand."

Severus's highly scathing remark was dismissed with laughter that he deemed a sign of approaching, if not already existent insanity. Narcissa was starting to sound far too much like her thankfully departed sister.

"Draco," Narcissa held her hand out and Draco mutely passed the stone to her.

"I will not help you Narcissa."

She turned to him and smirked. Severus wondered for a moment if insanity was hereditary in the Black family, and thought he should perhaps check the mutt for it... and maybe Tonks... and her mother as well, who was much more closely related to Narcissa and Bellatrix. Of course, it could also have been too much time spent around dementors, in which case the mutt was also probably teetering on the edge.

"You will have no choice."

Severus just sneered. Narcissa _was_ insane if she thought she could hold both Draco and him under the Imperious Curse at the same time. It would be astounding if she managed to control Severus at all. Being the only one with a wand at the moment gave her a better chance, but Severus had a much stronger will than she did, not to mention superb Occlumency barriers.

Narcissa held the stone in her hands, cradling it like a newborn child. He could feel some of what Harry talked about, the immense _wrongness_ coming from the artifact. As steeped in dark magic as Severus had been at one point in his life, this thing still made him feel ill. It was certainly malicious in nature and made him wonder exactly what the magical people of Babylon were attempting to accomplish when they destroyed their city.

She approached the veil reverently and placed the stone before it on the ground, directly on the mild stain left from the candles Severus had used in his ritual to retrieve Black from the veil. The woman had completely ignored Severus's admonishment that a repeat of his ritual was not possible.

The veil itself fluttered more, the wind that moved it picking up and making the robes of the two wizards and witch snap and cling to their bodies, affecting things outside the veil like Severus had never known it to do before. Narcissa's smirk widened and her eyes gleamed with a fanatic fervor.

He had been analyzing the situation from the moment they entered the room, and was still assessing his possibilities to escape and take Draco with him. He would leave with or without Narcissa, fully willing to let her succumb to her own madness. As he planned a feeling of warmth and completeness swept through him.

Remus was outside the room.

Not only could Severus feel him there, something inside him reaching towards the werewolf, but the room itself had subtly changed. There had been three doors leading out of the room when they entered and only one remained.

Harry had explained to him once how the Department of Mysteries changed its organization around randomly to confuse anyone who didn't work there, rearranging the locations of the rooms. He had never said it, but Severus guessed that the Unspeakables had the ability to prompt the Department to change however they wanted.

Not only was Remus there, but he had at least one Unspeakable with him, and probably the rest of the Order that they had selected for containing the magic of the stone.

All Severus had to do was get through that one door, preferably taking Draco with him.

As he was contemplating his actions Narcissa pointed her wand at him and cast the Imperious Curse. Though it did not take hold, Severus decided to play along for a bit and let Narcissa lower her guard.

How she had developed the ritual she was giving him instructions for, he had no idea. It might work to release the spirits she sought after, but it could not possibly create bodies for those spirits to reside in. They would have to either possess living people, which unfortunately there would be many of just outside the room if Narcissa succeeded, or another ritual would have to be performed to create hosts for the spirits.

Narcissa raised her arms over her head, screaming out her intentions, and Severus saw his chance.

Draco fell to the ground with a well placed and quite satisfying punch to his temple. Severus scooped the younger man up in his arms and started up the stairs. Narcissa turned towards them in mixed horror and fury, started to pull out her wand, but her body went rigid, her eyes glassy.

Something tangible, _visible_ rose from the stone and wreathed around her, spiraling up around her body. The veil spun and twisted, then started to flap, and was torn from the archway with a loud ripping noise. It was carried on the wind, which began to pick up once more, and flung against a wall where it remained pressed by the force of the currents.

Severus's hair and robes were carried on the wind as well, partially blinding him as he fought his way up the stairs, falling more than once under the combined pressure of the wind and weight of Draco's unconscious form.

Pain shot through his leg as his knee collided with the sharp edge of a stone step, and he was not even a quarter of the way towards the door. Rather than circling the room in a whirlwind, the currents from the veil were pushing him back and pulling at him. He felt his magic being tugged at, like the stone needed to feed on him.

He considered leaving Draco behind. Without the weight of carrying his former student Severus might be able to make it up those stairs in time. Remus would be holding off, delaying the containment process as long as he could in hope that Severus would make it out of that room. He couldn't do it though. Severus knew he wouldn't be able to look in a mirror ever again without disgust at what he'd become if he left Draco behind to die.

He bowed his head and took a deep breath, his muscles shaking with effort. Bracing himself, Severus gripped Draco tightly and struggled to stand once more. He only made it two more stairs before falling again, where he stayed for several minutes, clutching the younger man. Severus turned his head back and saw Narcissa, her body still upright as it convulsed under the strain of the magic that was flowing through her, too much for any one person to channel, let alone control.

_I am sorry Remus, Harry, I am going to die._

Severus started and reached for the wand he didn't have on him, taken from him and left on the grounds of Hogwarts, when he felt hands on his shoulders.

"Severus."

It was Remus, kneeling calmly next to him as though there was no magical gale force wind trying to drag them down to the archway.

"Remus," Severus smiled quite easily, all his fear and uncertainty bleeding out of him in the presence of his mate.

The werewolf put an arm around Severus's back and under his knees and lifted both him and Draco. He bent his head and kissed Severus softly as he began to climb the stairs with minimal difficulty. They reached the door in the amount of time it had taken Severus to stumble his way up three steps and Remus kicked it open and stepped outside.

_Collorportus!_

On the other side of the door Remus immediately set Severus on his feet while Minerva sealed the door to the veil's room. The Heir of Malfoy was removed from Severus's arms, revived and held at wandpoint just as the only remaining door to the room was dissolving away, replaced with solid wall.

"No!" Draco cried out and fought against the Weasley twins, who were holding him back, none of them bothering with their wands. "My mother is in there!"

"Whatever is in there Draco is no longer Narcissa," Severus said sharply, quite angry with the young man regardless of the Imperious Curse. Draco could have fought it, but for some reason chose not to.

Tears were streaming out of grey eyes, headless of the vaunted Malfoy composure in all situations. Draco stopped fighting against the Weasleys and just stood there, shaking with tears, while several of those assembled shifted uncomfortably and the goblins sneered in distaste for the emotional display.

The impact of flesh on flesh rang out when someone slapped the Head of Malfoy.

Alastor Moody stood before the younger wizard, "Snap out of it boy. Either take your self-pity elsewhere or work to fix this mess you helped to create."

Chastised, Draco nodded and looked around for direction. Remus began organizing the group of beings, shifting them in an arc with himself at the focal point. The two sets of twins were placed at either end and the others were at staggered positions between, alternating human and nonhuman. Severus felt the familiar tingle of magic as his wand was once more returned to him, Minerva giving him a supporting smile.

"She," Minerva spoke and Severus somehow knew she referred to Hogwarts, "thought you should have this."

"Focus your energy on me, whether through your wand or however you do so," Remus addressed them as a whole. "Let me weave all our magic together and with luck nothing will be able to escape that room. Hopefully with time a more permanent solution will be found."

Not for the first time, Severus was tempted to persuade Remus against putting himself at risk like he was. None of them knew what wielding that much power would do to Remus's body and magic. He could be killed, or end up a squib.

The desire to protect his mate was tempered by the knowledge that Remus could no more ask another to take his place than Harry could have when facing Voldemort, or Albus could have against Grindelwald.

From his robes Severus pulled out a vial of Replenisher to restore the energy he had used already in the chamber. Along with the others, he pointed his wand at his mate and focused on magic itself rather than any spell in particular.

The room they were in flooded with light as solid beams shot from each wand and from the hands of the nonhumans and connected with Remus. The werewolf faced away from them and rose into the air just enough that there was a visible gap between his feet and the floor.

His wand remaining in his holster, Remus raised both hands, palms facing out, and chanted.

A rainbow of light, like nothing Severus had ever seen before, was ejected from Remus's palms and swirled on the wall in front of them. Magic had always been just white, except for that one time when Severus was connected with Harry and saw a hint of color through his son's eyes, but this was nothing like that. He had to force himself to keep concentrating on the magic he offered rather than study the spell Remus was weaving, stare in awe at the result, or worry about his mate.

None of them, the humans at least as far as Severus could tell, knew exactly what was transpiring. If Harry was there he might have been able to see and feel the combining of the magic, but Severus could only offer his own magic to Remus and watch the protective barrier form.

The tug that pulled from within and drew out some vital part of Severus was almost intolerable. He saw a few of his fellow wizards and witches drop their wands and fall to their knees, panting heavily and fumbling for the vials of Replenisher that Severus had provided everyone with earlier. One of those was crowned with white blond hair, but he had no such vial.

He knew it was over when Remus dropped his arms. Severus pulled up his wand and tucked it away as others did the same. The beams of light ended, and Severus was interested to see that only one beam had been sent from each set of twins.

Remus slowly lowered back to the floor and stumbled as if drunk. Severus darted forward, the first to react, and caught his mate as he collapsed.

Severus was feeling the effects of magical exhaustion, and saw the signs of depletion in every other being in the room. Each one of them had offered Remus everything they had to give. Only Hagrid looked fresh and ready to go on.

Again, vials of Replenisher came out and were drained, bringing color back to the skin and life back to the eyes.

"Feels like rubber," Remus slurred, blinking at Severus.

At least he was conscious.

Severus sat in a chair that was conjured behind him, holding Remus in his lap, "It worked? Can you move at all?"

"Yes," Remus's head wobbled just a bit as if he was trying to nod but couldn't quite control the movement, "and not really."

Everyone who had participated was surrounding them, no longer separated into groups by species as they had been in the Order meeting room. One of the goblins, who looked particularly fierce, stepped forward. He spoke in a heavily accented voice, as though he rarely used English.

"I am Healer," the goblin said.

Severus nodded, knowing that it was a fragile moment, one that could either estrange the goblins or assure their allegiance in times to come. The goblin Healer held his hands over Remus and stared intently at him. He nodded his head several times, and spoke with one of the Gringotts goblins in Gobbledygook.

The Gringotts goblin addressed Severus, "He needs energizing and renewing potions. His magic levels are severely depleted, and might not recover unless quick action is taken, and even then..."

Severus nodded and was about to ask someone to remove the potions from his pocket for him, as he had no intention of letting go of Remus anytime soon, when more than one of the Order members signaled towards Remus.

He looked down again and saw that Remus was gathering his strength to talk, "Elixir. I know Harry has it." Severus's incredulity must have shown on his face, because Remus smiled. "Can't hide it from me. I've tasted it."

Blank looks were all around. Not one of the assembled wizards or witches or nonhumans had any idea of what Remus was referring to, but they didn't need to know. They would find out soon enough.

"Dobby," Severus ordered, "go to Potter Manor and tell Tawney that I need Elixir here immediately."

"Yes sir Master Snape sir!" Dobby eagerly obeyed, popping away and returning almost immediately accompanied by Tawney, who held a glowing red vial, bathing the entire room in its light.

Severus heard more than one of the Order members suck in a deep breath. The goblins were wide-eyed in awe and Firenze smiled benevolently.

Tawney spotted Remus and handed the vial up to Severus, "For Master Remus sir."

Remus accepted the offered vial as Severus held it to his lips, in direct opposition to the assumption made by Harry and Severus years before when the Flamels died. Severus felt his own body growing warm as Remus drank. Hazel eyes flashed golden, glowing more strongly than Severus had ever seen them before. Strength flowed into Severus's veins even as Remus's color improved.

Ignoring their surroundings, Remus reached up with hands, having regained the use of his limbs, and pulled Severus down for a kiss. Severus closed his eyes and lost himself, not caring if he was destroying his reputation amongst all those Gryffindors once and for all. He would have submitted to Remus just then if they were in the great hall in the middle of the welcoming feast. He tasted lemon on his mate's lips and tongue, and strawberry, and something else fresh and wonderful and wholly indescribable.

The kiss broke briefly, long enough for Remus to murmur against Severus's lips, "I love you."

"Okay," Severus vaguely heard the Weasley twins in the background of his awareness.

"Nothing more to see here folks..."

"We can wrap this all up another time..."

"Thanks for joining us..."

"...and ridding the world of evil once more."

"Remus will be in touch..."

"...though not that kind of touch..."

"...soon enough..."

"...but he's got his hands full..."

"...for now."

Cracks and pops sounded as the others left, the wards against apparition and Portkeys most likely temporarily disabled by the Unspeakables. Severus gained enough presence of mind to recommend a better location for continuing their activities and he and Remus apparated away to Highlands Cottage, their magic mixing in a much more private way, landing on the soft coverings of the bed.

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	42. Chapter 42

**Chapter Forty-Two**

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"DADDY!"

The almost screamed exclamation was heard over the usual talk in the great hall, and immediately echoed in three other small voices, just before the doors to the hall banged open and two figures entered.

Ginny had sent them a message that Harry and Charlie were alive and as well as could be expected after everything they went through, so it was no surprise to Remus. They hadn't told the children though, just in case it took a few days for Harry to be well enough to return to Hogwarts.

There were very few dry eyes among the students and staff alike as the four children ran from the head table, between the student tables, across the room and leapt into the waiting arms of their fathers, Harry and Charlie somehow not breaking contact with each other the entire time.

Remus grinned at Severus, even as he felt moisture in his own eyes. The _Daily Prophet_ had reported that morning the victory over the dementors and vampires, giving credit where it was due and thanking the vampire community profusely for their aid. There had been no word though about a disturbance within the Ministry itself. Diggory had decided to keep the activities of Narcissa Malfoy secret, only allowing a few of the Aurors that were also in the Order to be notified, at the very least until the mess was fully over with.

Severus and he had returned to Hogwarts that morning before the children woke, rousing Tonks and George, who were sleeping entwined on their couch, transfigured to be much wider than normal, and sending them to George's quarters.

The family was reunited, and the applause started by Jackie Gudgeon at the Gryffindor table was contagious, spreading throughout the hall.

Severus began to stand, but Remus put a hand on his shoulder, "Give them some time first."

The Potions Master nodded, and smiled freely at Remus, probably for the first time ever in front of their students. Several of those students noticed, and the applause died out as one by one they turned and stared at their Potions professor in fascination.

_"What_ are you staring at? You all have class starting in five minutes," Severus recovered from his temporary lapse in sanity and snapped at the entire student body, "and no excuses will be accepted for tardiness."

Remus hid his grin, knowing that Severus would not appreciate his amusement. Though the Slytherin had become more accepting in general and much warmer to those around him, in private, he was still Severus, and Remus would not have him any other way.

The students jumped as a whole, averted their eyes, and rushed out of the great hall en mass. Severus had not lost his touch at all.

Harry and Charlie exchanged children, still assuring them that they were indeed there. The staff, despite Severus's warning to the students regarding tardiness, lingered behind and the Potter-Weasley family joined them at the head of the hall.

"Where's the mutt?" Severus asked them, without his usual caustic tone that was associated with anything Sirius related. Remus just couldn't stop grinning that morning.

"Anna went into labor," Charlie explained for them. "Sirius is still with them. He called in Ginny to help."

George was the first to break the feeling of anticipation filling the room and launched himself at his older brother. The twins were taller than Charlie by no more than two inches, and much less muscular as neither of them wrestled dragons on a regular basis.

"Mum is going to have kittens!" George told his brother, crying and laughing all at once.

That was enough for Charlie to receive hugs from every staff member, most of whom left the room to get to their classes on time, leaving only immediate family members behind. None of them dared to touch Harry, for which Remus was glad. He could smell the tenuous control Harry had over himself.

Clearly Harry wasn't well enough to be there, but had decided the children were more important than his shielding. Again, Remus wasn't really surprised. Harry would sacrifice his life or sanity in an instant for those children.

"What happened to you?" Harry's voice was no more than a whisper. Charlie pulled him so that Harry stood in front of him and held him tightly, their children surrounding them.

"Elixir," Remus responded, knowing exactly what Harry was referring to. If it ran its course anything like the first time, it would be about a week before the glow in Remus's eyes began to fade.

"I believe we all have classes to attend to," Minerva prompted her staff, and smiled at Harry and Charlie, silently welcoming them back.

Charlie nodded and put a hand on Severus's arm, "Go ahead. We'll be in your quarters. I think we'll be staying in the castle for a few days at least."

Remus had some trouble paying attention to his classes that day, but was able to compensate by assigning readings and essays to most of his classes. All he could think of was Harry and Charlie and the children, of how they were handling this reunion. Severus and Remus had agreed to let them be alone together for the day. They would join their family after dinner.

There were a few detentions to rearrange, but Filch would be more than happy to take on a few extra troublemakers for the night. Dinner in the great hall was torture. Severus and Remus had to remain until the students were done and the hall was clear. They spoke with George about alerting the rest of family, but realized that Molly would have shown up in their quarters to look after her grandchildren for the day. She would tell everyone that her sons were back.

"How did he seem to you?" Severus asked Remus, his eyes troubled, once the last student was gone and they were alone. All that anticipation – and now they stalled.

Remus knew he was referring to Harry, the one person Severus's world had revolved about for more years than most knew. Even before Severus had discovered their relation he had been watching Harry closely, saving him from himself and others, treating him differently.

"He is not well," Remus admitted. "From what I can tell it is worse than ever. He's been getting progressively more sensitive ever since he uncovered these talents of his. The battle with Voldemort, and now this separation from Charlie coupled with intense emotional turmoil, have destroyed whatever chances he had to halt the growing of his perception."

Severus closed his eyes briefly, his carriage stiff, his very impassiveness revealing the incredibly strong grief and guilt that Remus could smell on him as clear as blood from an open wound.

The werewolf stepped closer to his lover and enfolded him in strong, capable arms. He did not care that at any moment a student could reenter the hall looking for the quill they left behind, or that there were numerous portraits around them which would report this episode in fine detail to Minerva. There were many things that ranked higher than exposing this relationship to the students or receiving an embarrassing lecture from the Headmistress.

"Harry is not the only one who has kept his emotions, his memories, his nightmares closed away from the people who care." Remus felt Severus tense but ignored it. "All four of us are guilty of this Severus, and all four of us must sit down and talk before one of us dies and the rest are left only with regrets."

Dark eyes opened swiftly and glared. Severus opened his mouth to speak, a scathing remark no doubt poised on the tip of his tongue, an accusation of being overly dramatic, but then there was an audible click as Severus shut his mouth and his jaw pulsed with contained anger.

"I no longer have nightmares of being torn to pieces by a golden-eyed wolf," Severus finally spoke, his voice even, controlled.

Remus felt his eyes mist but answered in kind, "And I no longer wake in a sweat with the image of a mutilated black haired boy in Slytherin robes burned into my mind."

They kissed then, a slow and lingering sweetness. Remus knew there was no one near the hall, and no one on their way there. Hogwarts bubbled inside his mind, happy for him, and kept him informed on the whereabouts of those closest to their location, several corridors and one flight away at that moment. His communications with the castle were growing clearer and clearer.

Remus held Severus's hand tightly in his as they walked to their quarters. They encountered not one student on their way, which had to be the castle's doing.

Inside they found Harry and Charlie on their couch, side by side pressed together, with the four children attempting to all sit in their laps at once. Harry's eyes had a distant look in them and Remus could smell the Raivannin. He spotted the empty vial on the table in-between the couch and the fireplace.

"Mum just left," Charlie told them quietly. One hand was stroking through Kat's hair, catching on knots and working them out patiently.

Remus watched Severus cross the room and stand in front of the family. Harry looked up them, acknowledging their presence for the first time. He blinked, and Remus smelled guilt heavy in the air around him, emanating from each person there, even the children. Severus's lips were pressed into so tight a line that they almost disappeared.

The dark man put a hand on Harry's head, his movements slow and carefully controlled. Harry did not flinch, nor did he move into the touch, but he allowed it, and Severus leaned down to kiss Harry's forehead tenderly.

Both professors took the armchairs on either side of the couch and sat down. No one asked if Harry was okay, as they knew he was not but would answer as if he was. They did not ask after Charlie, as he appeared healthier than they had ever seen him.

Still silent, Harry looked down at the children, Randy and Kat already asleep and Carver and Erica starting to nod off. One by one he placed a hand on each head and spoke softly, casting light sleeping charms to assure they would sleep through the night, and through any conversation.

"Would you like me to put them to bed?" Remus asked, glad for a safe topic.

Harry and Charlie shook their heads in perfect synchronization and Harry was the one who spoke, again not much above a whisper, "No. We want them here for now."

"Mum brought the paper," Charlie said, a quick glance to Harry, "but it didn't say anything about what _they_ were planning, or what happened."

"It's contained," Remus sighed, still feeling a bit odd, on-edge, and he attributed that to the Elixir, "at least as long as my wards hold, with Narcissa inside. No one will ever be able to open the room again without unleashing everything contained within."

The small frown and narrowing of Harry's eyes at Narcissa's name did not escape Remus's notice. It was probably safer not to bring up Draco's name.

"Something more permanent will have to be done," Remus addressed Harry on that one, as Harry was probably the only one who could do more than Remus had already done. "As for her helper, the Imperious Curse broke once we got him out of there and he helped us seal the room. He gave everything he could and fell before it was over. He's catatonic now, in a bed at St. Mungo's under Auror guard just in case he wakes."

"So he's technically under arrest?" Charlie questioned, not showing whatever emotion the news prompted.

Remus looked at Charlie a little harder and let his senses open more fully. There was something odd about him, something different. Severus was answering the question, telling them that Amelia had ordered Draco's arrest. He would not immediately be dismissed as committing crimes under Imperious until he could be fully questioned.

It took a minute or two but Remus singled out the difference. It was scent that he had always associated with the Flamels, two of his many mentors, and his eyes widened slightly.

"You've taken Elixir," Remus said without thinking, mildly astonished.

Harry's eyes flashed and Charlie extracted one hand from under Randy and touched Harry's cheek, caressing gently without a care for the others in the room. The green eyed wizard took several moments to calm enough before turning into the caress and kissing the palm of his bondmate's hand.

"Two blasting curses to the small of the back have the potential to completely ruin your day," Charlie was being very glib and casual about a brush with death, but Remus could smell the confusion pouring off the redhead. He shouldn't have survived something like that, Elixir or no. Remus theorized that Harry had managed to keep Charlie with them by force of will alone.

Harry moved closer to Charlie then, even though it didn't seem possible. He buried his head against Charlie's neck, a very quiet pained whimper coming from him, too quiet for anyone without enhanced hearing to detect.

Equally quiet was the grinding of Severus's teeth, "They told me you were dead that night. I had refused to believe until I saw for myself, and am quite glad they did not give details."

Yes, Remus nodded in agreement. Severus would have killed the Malfoys on the spot if they convinced him they had killed Charlie, effectively killing Harry as well. He would have managed to do it in a way that none could condemn him, too.

The fireplace flared then, still connected from Molly's trip back to the Burrow, "Severus?"

"Yes Minerva?"

"Ah good, you're all here," Minerva said tightly. "I have the Minister in my office. May we step through?"

Harry tightened all over, almost dislodging Carver from his lap, and Charlie answered Minerva for all of them, "Give us a few minutes to put the munchkins in bed, alright?"

Minerva nodded and removed her head from their quarters. Remus stood and held out his arms for the two children that Charlie put there. He brought them into the next room and saw that the castle had added another door on the other side of the children's room, probably leading to a room for Harry and Charlie. Severus had followed him in, Randy and Kat in his arms. They tucked all four children in and returned to the main room of their quarters to find Harry shaking.

"Not Diggory Charlie, please," Harry whispered.

Charlie closed his eyes and tightened his arms around Harry, "I'm sorry Harry. He's the Minister. If he wants to talk to us there is nothing we can do."

Remus kneeled in front of them and put a tentative hand on Harry's leg, hating the automatic jolt that went through Harry at the contact, "Yvonne has told you several times Harry. Amos does not blame you. He puts the blame for Cedric's death solely where it belongs, on Peter, the one who cast the curse, and on Voldemort, who ordered it cast."

"Tell them to come," Charlie said to Severus, overriding any further objections on Harry's part.

Remus wondered if they had all been too careful with Harry, treating him as if he would break at the slightest upset, too afraid of losing him. Perhaps it was time to force the younger man to face some of his irrational fears, and this would probably be one of the easiest. For so many years it had seemed like Harry had healed, but it looked like all his pain and troubles had only been buried, just waiting for a catastrophe to bring them out.

Minerva and Amos came through the Floo, much easier than walking through the walls, and a way to prevent rumors from spreading through the castle about the Minister's presence there. Harry's face was like stone.

Greetings were stiff and stilted, and Amos looked and smelled extremely uncomfortable. He had to know that Harry had been avoiding him for years, and was intelligent enough to know why. Fudge had been easy enough to fool and manipulate. This was an entirely new type of Minister.

Between Severus and Minerva more seats were produced and everyone sat, a house elf having popped in with tea and biscuits. Harry took a mug, filled with coffee rather than tea, Remus's nose detected, and proceeded to neatly hide behind it. He remained ensconced in Charlie's arms, his body curled up as small as he could make it.

"Several things must be taken care of quickly and quietly," Amos barged ahead despite the tension in the room. "It will not be long before the public notices that the Malfoys are missing, or that the Head of the Family is under guard in Mungo's. Then there is the matter of the Department of Mysteries, and determining who was controlling the dementors and vampires."

"That was Narcissa," Harry supplied quietly, not surprising any of them.

"What do you need?" Remus, as head of the Order, asked of Amos.

"No one can get Malfoy to talk," Amos shook his head sadly. "We need to know what happened, and if someone else was behind this before they make another move. I was hoping one of you might get the answers out of him."

At that Amos looked directly at Harry and Charlie. Harry's impassive mask fell and he glowered, "If I get anywhere near that gold-plated bastard I will kill him."

Charlie smirked though, "I think I might be able to shock it out of him. After all, he thinks I'm dead."

Amos looked at Charlie in surprise, but nodded, clearly having thought it would be Harry questioning Draco Malfoy. It was also clear that the Minister had no idea of what happened between the Malfoys, Charlie, and Harry.

The Minister rose to leave but turned to Harry first, "Hestia wants to see you about the veil, something to do with how you dispatched of Voldemort." He paused. "I am sorry you feel uncomfortable in my presence Harry. I know that Cedric would not have wanted this animosity between us, nor would he have blamed you for his death."

Harry closed his eyes tightly, as if in pain, and Charlie held him even tighter than before. Amos just looked at Harry for another moment before nodding at Severus and Remus sadly and leaving through the Floo system, Minerva only a few steps behind him.

There were several awkward minutes of silence. Remus knew it would be a long time before their lives returned to any semblance of normality.

Harry was nearly sitting in Charlie's lap by that time, having gotten progressively closer and quieter as the night wore on.

Charlie looked up at Remus and Severus, "I know it's still early, but I think we'll turn in."

Severus nodded stiffly. Remus was more concerned about his mate at that moment than Harry, as he could trust that Charlie had things in that department well in hand.

The two younger wizards disappeared through the room their children were sleeping in and Remus turned to Severus. His mate had stood up and crossed to the mantel, where he was holding a framed picture of Harry, grinning at the camera, from his first trip to Romania. It had been taken right after the relationship between Severus and Harry was discovered, right after Harry was released from the hospital wing, just before (or as) Harry and Charlie started their relationship.

He folded Severus in a protective embrace and rested his chin on one shoulder, "We have weathered many storms Severus, we will make it through this."

"All this time, he's been pretending," Severus put the picture back and closed the fireplace to Floo travel. "He never really healed, did he?"

"No Severus, I don't think he did."

"And none of us wanted to see the truth. We let him pretend."

"Yes, we did."

Severus turned in the embrace and gripped Remus tightly, "I don't think he ever will heal Remus. His body may be able to regenerate, but his mind has been through too much."

Remus did not answer. There was no answer he could give other than to agree with Severus. Rather, he led his mate into their bedroom. If he could not dispel the man's worries he could at least distract him until morning came.

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	43. Chapter 43

**Chapter Forty-Three**

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Charlie hated leaving Harry, even for only a short time, but Severus and the children were with him. In the past several years when Harry's control wavered, he could still withstand a day or so without Charlie, so long as the only others around him were Severus or the kids. Even Albus or other family members were too much.

Now though... Charlie suspected things would be different. Harry was worse somehow. Ever since his talents had developed, and then his barriers were ripped to shreds during the final battle, and his powers enhanced, Harry had not gone more than a week without either their bond or contact with Charlie. There was no knowing what damage the past few months had done.

He looked back to Hogwarts... to Harry and the children, secreted away in their quarters that were connected to Severus's... and Charlie apparated.

Between his sexual preference and chosen career Charlie had never expected to have children. It had been a firm rule at every dragon preserve that no handlers could raise children on site. If the issue arose, then the parents-to-be in question would have to find a home off the preserve and Floo or apparate in for their shifts. Invariably, they ended up finding other employment.

The reasoning behind that rule of course was that the dragons would be a danger to any children. None of them had anticipated Harry. It took some time, but Charlie had grown accustomed to Harry breaking fundamental rules of magic as easily as breathing.

Charlie knew, and blamed himself to some extent, that Harry had never confronted and dealt with many of his memories, his personal demons. The nightmares had faded almost completely, but only when Charlie was there. Charlie, along with everyone else, had only seen that Harry was doing well, and let him bury his past in the deep recesses of his mind.

Even though he had a task ahead of him, one that would require focus, clear thinking, his thoughts were at Hogwarts, with Harry, as Charlie walked alongside Remus.

"Charlie."

No response was forthcoming.

"Charlie," Remus spoke his name again.

They were in a stairwell at St. Mungo's, at the very top, at a door marked _Magical Maintenance Staff Only_, which was only to keep unwanted visitors away. Charlie hadn't even really noticed when they entered the hospital.

His sensitivity to magic having grown with his bond to Harry, Charlie could detect wards to keep away those who had no business on the top floor of Mungo's. It was the St. Mungo's high security ward for dangerous or sensitive patients, the ward that both Harry and Remus would be admitted to if either of them ever sought healing at the hospital, a highly unlikely possibility.

Finally, Charlie acknowledged Remus, grateful for the werewolf's own finely tuned senses that had to let him know how tense Charlie was, "Let's do this quickly and get back home."

"Home?" Remus raised his eyebrows at Charlie's word choice.

Charlie nodded and responded tightly, "Home is wherever Harry is."

"Harry will endure," Remus placed a comforting hand on Charlie's arm.

He shook his head, biting his lip to help hold back the overwhelming emotions that threatened.

"Never before Remus," Charlie paused, swallowed, and rephrased, his hand on the rail of the stairs for support. "I have always been able to comfort him, to ease his mind and give the strength he needs, to stabilize. Now, even after connecting more deeply than any two other people can..."

He broke off and turned his head away from the sympathetic golden eyes, still with a glow left from the Elixir, knowing that Remus understood. Plainly, Charlie felt impotent, a failure.

He could only remember fuzzy, indistinct images from his captivity, far too few for such a long time. And in that time Harry had been nearly destroyed. It did not matter that he was immortal, as it was not the health of Harry's body that had Charlie concerned.

The compassion and profound sympathy from Remus was strong enough that Charlie was nearly overcome. The two men, now legally family by the bonds they shared with Severus and Harry, exchanged a look of commiseration. They both strived to give the other strength enough to make it through the rest of the day.

Remus opened the door, ignoring the _Magical Maintenance Staff Only_ sign, and they entered the next stage of security for the top floor of Mungo's.

The room looked like it truly belonged with the sign. There were great pipes and everything in the room was a shade of grey or dirty blue. An old man moved a mop around on the floor, his use of the muggle tool a sure sign that he was a squib... unless the visitor was powerful enough to detect the magic in the man.

"Magical maintenance staff only," the old man muttered. "The cafe is one floor down."

Charlie wondered briefly what happened to those who pressed this man. He could feel the tension, alertness in the man.

"Remus Lupin and Charlie Weasley here to see Draco Malfoy as per request of the Auror Division," Remus said, ignoring the man's statements.

Brown eyes, free of the usual signs of old age, turned to them and took a long look, probably examining for any indicators of glamour or concealment spells, "Present yourselves to the Aurors on duty, though that door."

They walked through the door indicated, one of many in the room. If they had been found wanting, would they have been sent through yet another door? Charlie prepared himself for the possibility that the guard had decided they were not who they said.

"Charlie!" the Auror on duty was an Order member and Charlie saw Remus smirking out of the corner of his eye. He gave the werewolf a short-lived glare.

"Hi Dana," Charlie smiled at the girl. She had been two years ahead of him at Hogwarts, also a Gryffindor.

She returned the smile, "You and Harry had us all so worried. Follow me."

They started down a corridor that looked like any other in Mungo's, past a reception desk and Healer station where one of the Healers joined them. Rooms opened off either side and the doors were all curtained for privacy. A few of them had Aurors stationed outside the door, most likely prisoners that were injured in the process of their capture, or Azkaban inmates who could not be treated on the island.

Another Auror was guarding a door at the very end of the corridor. He nodded at Dana and stepped aside, passing his wand over the door to dismantle his personal ward that both locked the patient in and kept anyone other than the Auror and those he approved out.

"He hasn't spoken a single word since he regained consciousness after we brought him here," Dana told them, paused outside the door. "Veritaserum hasn't been approved yet, as we don't know exactly what to charge him with."

"There's attempted murder, to start with," Charlie told the other Order member, who blinked a few times, but nodded.

"You can go in on your own," Dana continued without questioning Charlie's suggestion. "Just leave your wand with one of us."

Charlie passed his wand, only recently restored to him, to Remus, who tucked it securely away in his robes, and entered the room alone. The Aurors, Healer, and Remus would all be right outside the door, probably using a viewing spell that turned the door transparent for their side only.

Draco was faced away from him, sitting in a chair that allowed him to look out a window, no doubt magically reinforced... if it was even a real window. The safer bet was that it was window like in the Ministry, not an actual window, but a patch of wall charmed to show whatever it was those in charge decided on.

His initial reaction on seeing one of his captors, one of those who tried to kill him, was anger. This wizard, even though he was under Imperious, had tried to take Charlie away from his family, permanently. It was something he could never forgive, but he could put that aside long enough to get Draco talking.

"Hi," Charlie decided to see first if Draco would respond to a voice.

The blond did not move.

"Draco."

The head turned then, and the instant Draco Malfoy saw Charlie he stood swiftly, his chair clattering to the floor. His eyes were wide and panicked and his breath was coming in short, sharp pulls.

"Y-you're dead," Draco spoke for the first time since his capture. "I killed you."

Charlie raised his eyebrows and looked down at his body, "I appear to be alive."

"I killed you," Draco repeated, looking at Charlie as though he was a spectre.

For a few minutes they just looked at each other, and Charlie did his best to establish Draco's mental state. The emotional health was easy enough. Draco was so nervous it was amazing that he wasn't shaking, but the Slytherin had learned to control the outward signs of emotion at an early age.

He was also scared... or more accurately terrified.

Charlie moved closer and projected calm, speaking in a low soothing voice, "What are you afraid of Draco?"

"He's going to kill me," Draco insisted, his wide eyes fixed on Charlie. "I took you away from him."

That made enough sense to Charlie, and he was almost surprised he hadn't thought of it before. Draco had seen Harry angry before, had even been on the receiving end of his wrath, and that was mostly before Harry came into his powers and learned how to use them. Being afraid of retribution from Harry was quite reasonable.

Charlie took another step forward, and crossed some invisible line that broke Draco's control and sent him scurrying into a corner with his hands raised. He frowned. Charlie did not know the long-term effects of the Imperious Curse, what being forced to commit heinous acts would do to a person, and no one knew what else Narcissa had made Draco do.

"I am alive Draco," Charlie spoke firmly then, casting aside his attempts at comfort. Maybe what the little spoiled brat needed was a good slap in the face. "Yes, you tried to kill me, but you failed. Harry healed me and we sent word to Severus. He was prepared for you."

Draco blinked a few times and his pupils started to return to their normal size, "But... but how?"

Charlie picked up the chair off the floor and set it upright, sitting down so he was facing Draco, who was still on the floor in the corner, "I've learned to stop asking 'how' where Harry is concerned. Have you ever understood what he can do?"

Panic receded, and the fear started to dissolve. Draco leaned forward and grasped his head with both hands, "I'm sorry Charlie."

"Could you have fought it?" Charlie was truly curious on that point.

Thin shoulders shrugged, "Maybe... if she didn't have Anna and the girls."

"And boys," Charlie added with a grin.

At that Draco jumped up and headed to the door, "I have to see her!"

Charlie was quickly up and in his way, holding back Draco with both hands, "You're not going anywhere Draco. There are Aurors outside that door, determining exactly what charges you are going to face before the Wizengamot. Anna is fine. Sirius, as your mother's cousin, has taken it as his familial duty to watch over your family. He attended the births and took care of transporting them to Malfoy Manor."

"I've failed her," Draco looked crestfallen. No one could possibly tell he was a new father.

"Some things were outside your control Draco," Charlie said sternly. "Now if you want to get out of here and see your new sons, I suggest you start talking."

It was the slap in the face that Draco needed. He stood, brushed his robes off and sat down on the hospital bed. Looking towards the door, he had his usual arrogant expression back, "Unless you want me to do this over and over why don't you all join us?"

Soon the small room was filled. Chairs were conjured up for Remus, the Healer, and the Aurors. After a quick examination under the Healer's wand Draco began his story, which to the surprise of the Aurors started before the school year did.

"Mother wrote and requested that Anna and the girls visit her before the pregnancy was too advanced for easy travel," Draco told them clearly, one of the Aurors having activated a globe that recorded voice. "They were supposed to be in France for two weeks. Mother takes them shopping in Paris, sunning at the sea, and whatever fancy takes her granddaughters. She loves to spoil them."

Draco was a consummate storyteller, they all soon learned. Keeping an audience spellbound by word alone was a talent cultivated in old pureblood families, especially those heavily involved in politics.

He told them some family history, reminding them that Narcissa was a Black before she married into the Malfoy family. The Blacks had come over to England from France, Anglicized their name, but kept their ties with several French families.

There was a little laugh from Remus then and all eyes turned to him,

"Sirius was so shocked when he discovered my mother was a Bonacieux," Remus explained as Draco glared for being interrupted. "Not many families here keep track of foreign wizarding families and I did wonder how he knew so much about them."

Draco waved it off as inconsequential, though he did feel a bit curious at the mention of Remus's lineage, and he continued his story.

When Draco exiled Narcissa to France during the war with Voldemort it had turned out to be precisely the move Voldemort was looking for. He had a supporter out of the way, and not under much suspicion. Almost immediately he made Narcissa his Secret Keeper, a task she maintained throughout the war, beyond Voldemort's death, until she was able to put the knowledge hidden within her soul to use.

"There is a French wizard making a bid for power," Draco told them all. Charlie registered the shock around them. Both Aurors leaned forward and Remus frowned. "I never saw his face and was never even in the same room with him. He is much more careful than Voldemort ever was. All I know is that he is as influential in the French government as my father ever was here, and probably using similar methods."

"The French version of Lucius Malfoy?" Charlie asked a bit incredulously.

The last thing they needed just then was yet another battle. Most of the Order was recovering from putting up the containment ward on the Department of Mysteries. There was also the problem that France was a foreign nation, and neither the Order nor the Aurors could not act there the same as they did in Britain.

There was calm assurance coming from Remus, and Charlie was even more convinced that the werewolf was the best replacement for Albus as the Head of the Order.

Remus looked at the Aurors with authority, "Notify the Ministry and contact the French government, but be careful. We don't want to tip his hand. Severus and I may be able to finish this on our own."

Charlie nodded along with the Aurors. Dana left the room, pulling something small out of a pocket, most likely a device she could use to contact the Ministry. Amelia and Amos would be able to handle the situation discreetly.

The other Auror stood and adjusted his robes, then looked at Draco. Charlie detected a bit of scorn, probably attached to the Malfoy name. Based on his testimony, the only illegal actions Draco had participated in were kidnapping, drugging, and attempting to kill Charlie. If anyone had the right to condemn him for it, Charlie did, but all he felt was pity. None of them had told Draco yet that his mother was in all likelihood dead, and Charlie didn't know what Draco remembered from that night.

"Draco Malfoy," the Auror said officially, "you are charged with kidnapping, assault, use of illegal potions, attempted murder, aiding and abetting, illegal entry to the Department of Mysteries, and the attempted use of a dark artifact. You will be tried before the Wizengamot within the week and held in custody until that time."

Draco swallowed and looked down. The fear was starting to set back in. One of the worst aspects of the Imperious Curse was that the victim remembered everything they did while under its control, and those memories carried with them the guilt as if the victim had been in complete control over their faculties.

There was a brief whispered disagreement between the Auror and Remus, and Remus prevailed judging by the man's expression.

"You will also," the Auror shot a glare at Remus, "be given permission to contact your wife, as she is currently unable to travel. Your communication will be monitored."

"Thank you," Draco said tightly, no doubt biting back some scathing comment. Charlie knew the other wizard well enough to know that he was chafing at the restrictions.

"Are there any more messages you would like us to pass along?" Remus questioned Draco as the Auror bound the Slytherin for transport to the Ministry holding cells.

Draco looked up at them and nodded, "Tell Harry I'm sorry please, and Severus and the children. I never wanted to hurt them."

Charlie nodded. He remembered hearing about the time Severus had been forced to hurt Harry under Imperious, from Severus of course. It was one of the many things that Harry did not talk about. The healing of their relationship had been a long and painful process.

He doubted that Harry would ever forgive Draco as he had forgiven his father. There was no strong underlying bond to keep forcing them together or to give Harry any reason why he should forgive.

Sadly, Charlie accompanied Remus away from the room and out of the hospital. As soon as they were able to they apparated back to Hogwarts and started towards the castle. Determination was fairly pouring off of Remus.

"Please don't tell Harry everything Draco told us," Remus requested as they entered Hogwarts. "Just concentrate on getting him healthy and leave saving the world to us."

For the first time Charlie completely agreed with concealing the doings of the Order from Harry. Not only was Harry in no shape to go running off to save the day, but if Remus's mood was any indicator they would be able to handle this just fine without Harry.

"I may be able to settle this nice and quietly Charlie," Remus said as they climbed the stairs. "Give us a few days to see what we can find."

Charlie was doubtful for a minute but acquiesced. Between the two of them Severus and Remus could probably handle just about anyone.

They entered the quarters to find the children happily sitting in front of the fire, occupied with toys and books. Harry and Severus were in a corner, talking quietly, and the line of Harry's shoulder relaxed visibly as Charlie entered the room.

He gave each child a hug and kiss before making his way to Harry.

Harry was standing when he got there and fit nicely into Charlie's arms. For a moment Charlie let himself believe that everything was okay. He and Harry were where they belonged, together and with their children. He breathed in Harry's scent deeply, almost not noticing that Severus and Remus were herding the children into the kitchen for lunch.

They could live the lie for a little longer.

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	44. Chapter 44

**Chapter Forty-Four**

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"Where are we going?"

Severus looked at Remus skeptically. All Remus had told him was that Draco had given them his full story, including a very small bit of information as to the identity of the man behind Narcissa's actions. Something in that information gave Remus some clue of this man's identity and they were on their way to either confirm that suspicion or confront the man.

"France."

Severus sneered at the self-satisfied grin on Remus's face. The werewolf was purposefully irritating him, "I figured as much. I was looking for a little more detail."

"There may be something I overlooked, a crucial piece of information," Remus said quietly.

Before another scathing comment escaped his lips Severus paused. He knew Remus well enough by then to know that something was disturbing the man. Thinking on their still somewhat new relationship Severus considered carefully what he was going to say next.

"Would this have anything to do with an article in the Paris paper?" Severus asked shrewdly.

Remus looked at Severus sharply, his lips tight. It was a look that Severus had perfected years before, used to hide some deep emotion that he didn't even want to admit to himself. The werewolf just nodded at his mate.

It was a long walk to get away from the Hogwarts wards, past Hogsmeade, and that day it was mostly in silence. Severus knew firsthand that even though his family may have cast him out and not looked back, Remus still had some feeling for them.

Remus stopped at the edge of the wards, "I have not been there since months before I was bitten... I don't think I can apparate there reliably."

"So we are getting there how?" Severus cocked an eyebrow, knowing Remus had the answer already.

"By finding someone who can take us there," Remus's eyes flashed, the glow in them growing warmer. Severus had to admit that he found the glow appealing, striking some animalistic sense within. It would also serve as a constant reminder of his condition and hopefully add some intimidation.

"Romania, or Paris?" Severus asked, suggesting the only two people he knew of who could take them to the Bonacieuxs.

Remus's face stilled and his posture stiffened slightly, "I think it is time I met my sister. Can you bring her to me in Paris?"

No werewolf could enter a dragon preserve. The dragons would not react well. Severus nodded, knowing that this day was going to be even more difficult than he originally anticipated, "Where?"

There was a piece of parchment in Remus's hand that he passed to Severus, "This is the address for the apartment I own there. Bill Weasley occupied it briefly before the wedding and it has been vacant since then. I'll wait there."

Severus could see the uncertainty in Remus's eyes. He ignored that Remus had kept an apartment in Paris for years when he had no need of it. It was more important then to reassure his mate, which was most likely the primary function of the apartment itself.

"She will love you," Severus said in an uncharacteristically soft tone, glad that they were alone. "Harry and Charlie have already told you and they know her like family."

Remus cracked a smile that, as one of the reasons for the day's excursion was that he had some dark suspicions as to the type of activities in which his family was involved, or the Head of the Family at the very least.

Severus let Remus have complete control as the werewolf grabbed him and kissed him firmly, knowing that Remus needed to assert himself, needed the reminder of their bond. They separated and apparated to their two different destinations.

He had been to the dragon preserve many times and was recognized the instant he stepped into the common hall where a large number of handlers were gathered for lunch (or breakfast or dinner depending on what shift they were working).

Immediately he was peppered with questions from all sides. The handlers knew that Charlie was missing and had no information for several months on the wellbeing of either Charlie or Harry.

Holding his hands up for silence, Severus waited for the noise to die down before speaking, "They are both back with us, and recovering at Hogwarts."

Relieved smiles spread across each face. There were never emotionless masks at the preserve, as expression meant little when one could actually feel what another was feeling.

Severus answered several questions, hoping that Remus had taken the group dynamics of the dragon handlers into account. It was impossible to stop in for only a few minutes, especially when two of their number were in danger.

"I don't know when they'll back," Severus knew he had to be completely honest with these people, "or even if they'll be back. Harry is not doing well, but we are doing our best to remedy that situation."

His cold and clinical tone would fool no one there he knew, but it was more for himself than for them. Severus needed some level of detachment or he might actually break down, which he was determined to avoid.

He caught Renee's eye and gave the most discreet of signals that he wished to speak with her outside the tent. He did not have to wait long and he wondered just how he was going to address this girl, who he should actually consider his sister-in-law.

"Fleur has told me about you and Remus, Severus," Renee instantly put him at ease. "She and I have been talking quite a bit recently."

She looked nervous and probably guessed that Severus was there not to tell everyone how Harry and Charlie were faring, as that much could be accomplished by owl, but for something concerning her newfound brother.

"He is in Paris now," Severus told her bluntly, "and wishes to speak with you."

Renee's face lit up and she launched herself at Severus, hugging him tightly, but releasing him quickly when she detected his discomfort with her familiarity. It took only a few minutes for Renee to alert her team that she would be away for a bit and change into something more suitable for meeting her brother.

"This is the address," Severus handed her the parchment.

"Will you be joining us?" Renee looked up at him and bit her lip. She was several inches shorter than him, and Remus would tower over her. They did not look much alike, but Severus could see some relation in the shape of the face, and the eyes. Hers were a bright hazel, like Remus at the new-moon.

Severus smirked, "I think it better if I give you two a few minutes. I've had enough of reuniting with long lost family members."

Renee rolled her eyes but apparated away without him. Severus walked away from the tent, away from the noise of the gathered handlers, and let his mind drift back to the conversation with Harry while Remus and Charlie were at Mungo's.

He couldn't believe what Harry was asking him to do, yet a part of him acknowledged that it might be Harry's only chance at having any semblance of a normal life. Still, the idea of performing a large number of memory charms on his own son was unnerving, especially as he would have to do it while using Legilimency to isolate those memories he would be erasing.

Determined to put off those thoughts for a time when he could actually think about what answer he would give Harry in depth, Severus checked the address Remus gave him once more and disappeared, his thoughts now firmly on France and ending this potential dark reign before it truly got a chance to begin.

He arrived in an apartment which was almost entirely one room. There was a bed, a table with chairs, a kitchen area, and more bookshelves than should have been able to fit in the space. Every spare bit of wall either had bookshelves or stacks of books. Severus was actually surprised, thinking that all of Remus's library was at Hogwarts.

The other two in the room both had tears in their eyes and smiles on their faces. Remus greeted Severus with a hug and kiss and then led him by the arm over to Renee.

"Severus," Remus said formally, "I would like you to meet my sister Renee."

It did not matter that they already knew one another. It was the symbolic significance of the introduction that was important just then.

Severus bowed briefly over her hand, "It is a pleasure."

"The pleasure is mine," Renee returned with a little smile.

"I have to admit something of an ulterior motive in seeing you today," Remus hung his head.

Renee gave him a confused look and they began speaking back and forth in rapid fire French, Severus only catching a word or two in twenty, but the expressions and body language were enough to go on. Shock and disgust, betrayal played over Renee's face, followed quickly by anger and several words that Severus _did_ know, as he had heard them from Harry, whose command of several languages was limited to profanities.

"Renee," Remus switched to English, "we have to see François. We have to know if he's involved."

She wiped a tear from her cheek, "I grew up in that house, with Maman and Grand-père."

Remus held her arms and looked in her eyes, "I know Renee. If it's him, maybe we can stop things before they go any further."

A shuddering breath escaped the smaller girl and she sniffed before nodding shakily.

"You can both follow me?" The two men nodded. "Very well. We aren't terribly far away right now. It's the middle of the day, so he's probably at home."

Renee grasped a hand from each of them and Severus concentrated on her as she prepared to apparate with them. There were several buildings on the grounds of the Bonacieux estate. The main house was extravagant, palatial, and Renee was blushing ferociously.

"I'm sure Snape Manor is much more tasteful," she said uncomfortably.

Remus and Severus both laughed, unavoidably, "Seeing as my family's home is now no more than some foundation stones scattered about I might have to disagree." Renee forgot her embarrassment at the opulence of her childhood home and raised an eyebrow. "I burned Snape Manor to the ground when I inherited. Hogwarts had been my home for many years by then."

She nodded, as if in complete understanding of his choice, even if she did not know all the terrible things that had gone on in the Manor. This delicate but massive structure did not have the same feel to it that the Manor had. The dark oppressiveness was missing.

The Bonacieux family had been publicly neutral for decades, claiming their only allegiance was to the family and to France herself. They had aided in the resistance against Grindelwald and the Nazis, but had nothing to do with either war against Voldemort.

Severus and Remus walked behind Renee as she led them towards the main house. With the confidence of one born the luxury around them, she flicked her wand and the doors swung open into a gilded and marble entry hall, the sunlight from the tall windows sparkling off the crystal sconces and chandelier.

Both Remus and Renee were slightly flushed in apparent shame at the display of wealth. Remus looked around and shook his head, "Exactly as I remember. Dad was always uncomfortable here."

"You lived in one of the country houses, right?" Renee questioned him.

Remus nodded, "Until I was seven."

"They will know that we are here by now," Renee said and crossed her arms over her chest, preparing for confrontation.

"House elves," Severus commented. There was no need for wards that alerted wizards and witches of the arrival of guests, expected or unwanted, when there were house elves around to alert their masters of any occurrence on the property they were bound to.

A tall woman swept into the room, her hair and clothing immaculate, and Remus tensed. It was Suzanne Bonacieux, and Severus gave her a piercing look. The woman was officially his mother-in-law and he by no means was going to allow that to interfere with him protecting Remus. The werewolf could certainly fight his own battles, but Severus was more concerned with emotional damage.

"Remus, Renee!" Suzanne exclaimed as if her children had been raised together and often came to visit her. Both stiffened and stepped back rather than accept the hug their mother clearly intended. She spotted Severus and frowned, "I am sorry. I recognize you but cannot place your name."

Luckily she spoke in English, as if assuming that by coming with Remus he was an English wizard.

"We met at the wedding of Bill and Fleur Weasley," Severus told her succinctly.

Remus took his hand and ignored his mother's eyes rounding just slightly, "Allow me to introduce Severus Snape, Deputy Headmaster of Hogwarts, Potions Master, and my mate."

The woman recovered quickly, but Severus saw Renee out of the corner of his eye stifling her laughter with a hand over her mouth. She was clearly enjoying her mother's shock.

"We are here to see Grand-père, Maman," Renee said forcefully, interrupting her mother.

"Oui," Suzanne nodded tightly and smiled again, a smile that did not quite reach her eyes and reflected the tension in the hall. "Your Grand-père is in his study. I can conduct you there..."

"That will not be necessary Maman," Remus interrupted her and spoke firmly. "I am sure Renee knows the way."

"Follow me," Renee started off before her mother could say another word.

Severus shook his head as they walked along a corridor with windows along their left and gilt framed mirrors on the right, giving the corridor a great sense of depth. It somewhat comforted him to know that there was not a single family in existence that had perfect relations with each other, even if the Weasleys came close.

Renee was slowing her stride and her entire bearing changed, making her look more like a ballerina than a dragon handler. Severus was becoming more and more interested to meet Remus's grandfather if this was the effect he had. He felt Remus's hand take his and looked to his right to see that his mate's eyes were glowing.

"You can let the Aurors handle this," Severus said softly, offering Remus a way out if that was what he needed.

Remus shook his head, "There is not yet enough proof for Aurors to become involved. At the moment this is a family matter."

"The study is through here," Renee stopped outside an ornate door, her hand poised on the curved handle. "Would you like me to join you?"

"It would be safer if you did not," Remus looked on his sister and Severus saw the protective side of the werewolf in his eyes.

Renee rose to the challenge though, "I hardly think Grand-père will be a greater danger to me than a nesting dragon."

Severus saw the same fire in her that he frequently attributed to the wolf inside Remus, and for the first time considered the possibility that Remus would be powerful and strong even if he had never been bitten. He regretted that he never had the chance to meet Simeon Lupin and resolved to ask Remus about him sometime soon.

Renee turned the handle and opened the door without knocking, causing the man sitting at a desk inside to look up in irritation, which changed to a patronizing smile upon seeing his grandchildren.

"You two have finally met," François Bonacieux rose from behind his desk and came over to them, kissing Renee on both cheeks and holding Remus at arms length to look him over. He was also speaking in English, perhaps not aware that his grandson still spoke fluent French. Severus narrowed his eyes. There was something familiar about this man. "You have grown into a fine man indeed. You have the look of the Bonacieuxs. I must admit I have been expecting you for a time now."

Remus raised his eyebrows, but did not comment. Rather, he indicated that Severus should step forward, "Grand-père, meet Severus Snape."

He did not give Severus's many titles as he had with his mother. This was a more delicate game they were playing, and it was Severus's skills as a spy that were needed.

"You are an associate of my grandson, are you not?" François asked, reaching out to shake Severus's hand.

"Yes," Severus responded. "Remus and I attended Hogwarts in the same class and have worked together for several years."

The older man then took Renee's hand and directed her towards the door, "Go spend some time with your Maman, mon petit. I wish to speak with your brother and his _friend_ alone."

Renee had no choice but to leave and before she did she nodded at both Remus and Severus, "I will see you both before you leave, and please convey to Harry how glad I am that he and Charlie are safe and well."

Severus was watching the patriarch of the family rather than his mate's sister and was rewarded with the slightest reaction to Renee's statement, which could easily have been made at any other time.

The three men watched Renee kiss Remus on the cheek and walk out the door, closing it quietly behind her. François returned to sit behind his massive desk and smiled at Remus and Severus. It was a cold smile that reminded Severus distinctly of Lucius Malfoy, a comparison that was most likely more apt than he knew.

"Now that Renee has gone we may speak gentlemen," François Bonacieux gestured at the two chairs opposite him. "Please sit."

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	45. Chapter 45

**Chapter Forty-Five**

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Remus trusted his grandfather about as far as seven-year-old Erica could throw him. He eyed him carefully as he sat down on the offered chair, his senses fully alert. His sensitive werewolf nose could smell almost overwhelming arrogance coupled with something darker and more sinister.

"I would ask you why, but the answers to that question have never satisfied me," Remus said calmly, waiting to see exactly how his grandfather would interpret him statement. There were many 'whys' to ask about, and first and foremost in his mind right then was why the man had threatened his pack.

"You know as well as I Remus," François adopted a condescending tone, "that you were a threat to your unborn sister. It was in her interest and your own to separate the two of you. How would you have felt if you killed your own sister one full moon, or turned her?"

"That was not my concern," Remus felt himself wanting to snarl. How _dare_ the man try to plague him with guilt? Remus had felt his share of guilt over the years and then some and was only then rising above it. "I never once attacked a human while in wolf form, thanks to those who cared for me."

Remus leaned back to appear more relaxed but his every muscle was tensed and ready to spring, "I am more intrigued as to what lengths you went to in order to get me here, and what your purpose is."

The French wizard stood and waved his hand imperiously, as if swatting away the question like a bothersome insect. He walked across the room to a large painting of the French countryside, "There was no harm done I'm sure."

The anger was practically roiling off Severus. Remus could smell it and even feel it through their bond. He would have to act soon if only to prevent Severus from doing something he might regret later.

He stood swiftly and bared his teeth, feeling his slighter longer and sharper canines, "No harm done. My cub is in extreme pain and you claim there is no harm done."

It was the crucial moment. If the elder man had nothing to do with the current troubles in the wizarding world he would respond with confusion, and thanks to Remus's senses there would be no deception.

Rather than trying to lie, perhaps knowing it was useless considering what his grandson was, François turned and smirked at them, "I find that hard to believe. He survived much worse at the hands of the Dark Lord."

Severus was on his feet suddenly and glaring at the older man, his wand in hand, "Death Eater bastard."

"Hypocrite," was the still calm remark, followed by a snort.

Remus was astonished. He had suspected that his grandfather was up to something, and had set off Narcissa Malfoy, but did not think the man had sunk that low.

"How long?" Remus asked, needing to know. If his grandfather had been Marked in the first war, then he may have had a part in his father's death.

"Not very," François sounded bored, "and certainly not in the way you think. He was winning his war, and if it wasn't for Potter he would have won easily. I merely took those steps which would ensure the survival of this family, much as we did in the times of Grindelwald."

"What do you want from me?" Remus was feeling betrayed. He was surprised at the pain as he had thought he put the Bonacieux family behind him, was immune to any pain they sought to cause him.

With Remus's question the older man's eyes became hungry. He stood tall and proud.

"I watched my country ravaged by war," François told them, his head held high. "The muggles tore it apart in their World War and killed millions. My brother was a squib, and he was caught by the Germans and killed in their camps. Nonetheless we had to pledge our allegiance to Grindelwald and prevent the rest of the family from suffering the same fate.

"Muggles are dangerous, yet wizards are equally, if not more dangerous. The Dark Lord's first reign did not extend beyond Britain, and so our involvement was not called for. When He came back it fell upon me to protect France, to protect the Family, and I did what was required. France would never again be a victim in my lifetime," François was getting more passionate in his speech as it progressed and his voice was growing steadily louder.

"Why now?" Remus narrowed his eyes. "Voldemort," he took pleasure in his grandfather's flinch, "is dead, gone forever. He can do nothing to this family or to France. Why release dementors and vampires on muggles and send Narcissa Malfoy off the perform necromancy?"

François slammed his open hand on his desk, making a number of small instruments rattle and a stack of parchment topple and float to the floor. His face was reddening in his anger, "Narcissa is a fool! She came to me with her plans and I humored her. Ridding the world of Fudge was useful, Lucius was always particularly cunning, and it was simple to convince her to lead me to the Dark Lord's sanctuary. She never could have brought back her husband or the Dark Lord."

"Instead she nearly opened the gates of hell and let loose its inhabitants in the middle of London!" Remus was feeling his anger rise as his grandfather's did. He wondered if the man thought he could actually prevail in this encounter.

"And you stopped her," the hunger was back in the French wizard's eyes.

The air was thick with tension and Remus's brain was racing, trying to figure out what his grandfather was playing at. What was his goal? He apparently did not want the Dark Lord back. He had been using Narcissa for his own ends... but what were those?

"What do you want with me?" Remus half growled.

His grandfather took several steps towards him, "I am not sure how the silver failed to kill you, but you are stronger than ever before." His eyes darted from Remus to Severus and back. "I did not expect you to bring your... _friend_... but I am pleased. He has proved in the past how he can be swayed by love."

At the mention of silver Severus's wand rose just slightly and he took a protective step closer to Remus, who stepped out of easy reach from his grandfather. He did not really blame his family for abandoning him as a child. He was a danger to them, to his sister. But to have a hand in the attempt to kill him was more than Remus thought them capable of.

The hair on the back of his neck was standing on end, whether from apprehension or anger Remus did not know. He was tensed and prepared to either attack the man or flee. Reaching out with his senses Remus examined the wards and found it would be impossible to apparate from the room. He would have to rely on speed and strength to keep himself and Severus safe.

"Never again will this family be threatened," François snarled. "I will ensure that."

"As the next Dark Lord," Severus replied with sarcasm and disdain.

François laughed, a loud guffaw, "Oh please. No Dark Lord has ever succeeded in ruling the wizarding world or any part of it. Darkness is useful as a tool but must be used sparingly, or the wizard will be corrupted. Power is more easily gained politically, without bloodshed. There is far less opposition when your opponents do not even know they should be opposing you."

"Again, what do you want with me?" Remus found his patience, always so high with the Marauders or with Harry and Charlie's children, was reaching its limits.

There was a smirk on his grandfather's face, "You will fulfill your duty as a Bonacieux and support me."

It was Remus's turn to laugh, "I have not been a Bonacieux for years. I am a Lupin and proud of that name. You will find no support from me."

"You will pledge your support, or you will not leave this room," François's eyes flashed with anger. He flicked his wand each door in the room was stripped of its wooden veneer to reveal silver plating.

Remus snarled, no words necessary. He was caged, trapped, and the wolf was rising to the surface.

"And you called Narcissa a fool," Severus shook his head. Remus felt amusement rising off his mate and he resented it until he realized it was not directed at him. It was anticipatory.

François wavered just slightly, looking at Severus with confusion.

Severus advanced on the older wizard with his wand pointed at the man's heart, "You have turned the very strength you desire against you. What _possessed_ you to harm a werewolf's pack?"

"I am his grandfather!" François declared triumphantly. "He cannot harm me!"

With that Remus sprang. He moved past Severus and knocked his grandfather down, swinging his arm so his forearm impacted the man's temple and sent him skidding across the floor unconscious. The wolf wanted more, wanted to hurt the man who hurt his cub, but Severus's gentle hand on his shoulder restrained him.

"Family does not mean pack," Remus growled, his anger still high.

He felt Severus softly but insistently pull him back, his other hand coming up to card through Remus's hair, "The Aurors can take him from here. He knows where Voldemort's lair is and can lead them there now that Narcissa is dead."

Remus nodded, even if the wolf was not backing down. He heard running feet, followed by pounding on the door to the study. Severus gave him a questioning look and Remus nodded. There was no need to control the wolf. The wolf was part of Remus, and Remus always had control over himself.

Severus ran his wand over the door and with a long string of Latin he dismantled whatever wards François had activated earlier. The door opened and Renee entered, followed by French Aurors in their official robes, wands drawn.

The group spotted the Head of Bonacieux unconscious on the floor and looked to Remus for an explanation. Rather than say anything he stalked over to the man, reached down, and ripped open his left sleeve, revealing the Dark Mark that remained on the pale flesh.

Renee gasped and the Aurors all stiffened. François was immediately bound and searched for weapons, potions, and Portkeys.

"You will find," Remus addressed the Aurors in French, not knowing if they spoke English, "that my grandfather can tell you where to find the base of operations for Voldemort and his Death Eaters."

Remus guessed that his and Albus's theory regarding the Fidelius Charm was wrong. The protection would die with the Secret Keeper, which meant that Voldemort's lair was no longer protected by Narcissa.

One of the Aurors stepped forward and Remus guessed him to be the senior man present. He bowed and addressed Remus directly, "Lord Bonacieux, we thank you for your assistance."

Alarmed, Remus sought out Renee, who flushed. "Uncle Michele died years ago. You are the next direct male Bonacieux in the line of succession. You are still on the tapestry Remus."

He shook his head. This, Remus did not want. Hogwarts was his home, and possibly the small cottage that Harry had given to Severus. Not only did he not want the responsibility, or the disruption to his well ordered life, but he could not imagine the turmoil that would come from having a werewolf as the Head of Bonacieux.

It was no wonder his grandfather had been seeking his support, even if he went about it in a convoluted and sick way. To have the Heir of the Family estranged and at odds was never good for the Head of the Family. He wondered briefly why he had never been told he was the Heir, but decided he did not really care.

"No," Remus flatly refused. "I abdicate in favor of whoever is next in line." He glanced at Severus quickly and saw a small smile on his mate's face, almost small enough that not even Remus would see it. "I am happy with my life the way it is. This family rejected me when I was a child. I have no wish to lead it."

There were nods around the room and a quick discussion by a few of the Aurors that Remus did not bother to follow. All he wanted was to finish whatever business in France required his attention and go home.

"Amelia Bones will cooperate if you desire assistance in regards to Voldemort's lair," Remus told the senior Auror. "Just tell her that you spoke with me. You may need someone with a Dark Mark to get past the wards."

Severus huffed at that, knowing very well that he was the only one who bore the Mark and would help to find and do something about the cache of Dark objects stored away by Voldemort. It would take a large team of Unspeakables and Aurors from at least two countries several months to get through everything that Tom Riddle acquired in his lifetime.

The Aurors left with François, leaving Remus much relieved. Years ago he may have felt some sense of revenge for how he had been treated by his family, leaving him alone after his father died, but he only felt tired and saddened.

"So who did I abdicate in favor of?" Remus questioned his sister once they and Severus were the only ones left.

She shook her head, "I'm not quite sure. Grand-père restricted access to the tapestry. I only knew about you because Maman told me when I confronted her about you and Père."

Remus nodded, "Where is it? Whoever is Lord Bonacieux now needs to be told, and how did that Auror know?"

"He is a cousin," Renee responded and led them to a tapestry which she pulled aside to reveal a plain door.

Remus had to dismantle a few tricky wards to get through and into a large room with portraits and the Family Tapestry, detailing their lineage for hundreds of years. Tracing the gold threads with his finger, Remus felt a knot in his chest when he found his mother, Suzanne Bonacieux, connected to Simeon Lupin. Below them were Remus and Renee, and connected to Remus was Severus Snape.

A smaller hand slipped into Remus's and he smiled down at his sister. His eyes looked to sides, trying to find the closest living male relation to his grandfather of Bonacieux blood.

Severus began laughing and Remus looked to his mate before following his gaze. What he saw made laughter bubble up inside him as well, and soon all three of them were grinning and laughing.

The tapestry labeled each Head of the Family with their name in purple thread, and the date that they became Head and ceased to function as such directly under their name. For Remus it showed the same date twice, and the date was printed a third time further down on the tapestry. It seemed there had been a surplus of females born into the family for several generations.

It took several minutes for them to calm, and when they did they prepared to apparate to Paris. Remus knew he wanted to be there when the news was conveyed.

Renee had a mischievous smile on her face when she knocked on the door. A voice from inside yelled that it would be a minute, and opened to reveal Bill Weasley, who gave them a curious look before inviting them inside.

Fleur came out and kissed them each on both cheeks, "I am so happy you two are here together!"

She beamed at Renee and Remus, pleased that her cousins had been reunited. Remus smiled at her, deciding that it would be extremely difficult to lift his good mood just then. He saw the reason for their visit enter the room, and kneeled down to be at his level.

"Dante Arthur Weasley," Remus greeted the three-year-old, who immediately looked up at his mother fearfully. He probably only heard his full name when he was in trouble. "It is my pleasure to be the first to address you as Lord Bonacieux."

Fleur gasped and Bill nearly choked on nothing, a quick flick of his wand all that save the tray of drinks he had been bringing to their guests.

"I had no idea he was in line," Fleur exclaimed, her eyes wide. "What happened to Uncle François?"

Renee frowned, "He had the Dark Mark. He will be in Azkaban soon, as accomplice to Narcissa in addition to Death Eater activities."

"And Remus?" Bill asked them.

"Abdicated," Remus told them. "I have no desire to be Lord Bonacieux, and especially no wish to leave Hogwarts."

The stunned parents nodded slowly, taking in the information. They looked at each other, and down at their oldest child, who still wore the wary expression, not sure if he was in trouble for some offense, imagined or otherwise.

"We will need to make arrangements," Fleur said a little dazedly.

Bill nodded, "I'm sure we can get leave from Gringotts for a bit."

Severus was merely smirking lightly in the shadows and Remus knew he was pleased with the turn of events. The Weasley family was continuing to advance in wizarding society by leaps and bound, and it couldn't happen to a nicer family.

"We have to return," Severus said plainly. "There is class to teach in the morning, and I need to discuss something with Harry."

"I'll see you again soon?" Remus turned to his sister, an unfamiliar knot forming in his chest. They had just met, and he hadn't really gotten a chance to know her yet.

"You better," Renee grinned and threw her arms around him.

Remus returned the hug, careful not to hug too tightly, and reveled in the scent that that told him the girl he was holding was pack.

They left her with the Weasleys, who would certainly need some help with their newfound status as regents to Lord Bonacieux. Remus stepped out into the streets of Paris, remembering when Albus had found him there, living from hand to mouth and still trying to forget he had ever had friends, a pack. He closed his eyes and breathed in. Since then he had been reunited with Harry, and with Sirius twice, and he had found Severus. He would always love Paris but it was no longer home.

"I think it is time I sold my flat," Remus stated quietly. It would be letting go of one of the last bits of his former life of running, the last place he had where no one could find him.

Severus nodded but said nothing. He was perceptive enough that he always knew when his comments were not appropriate.

"What do you need to discuss with Harry?" Remus asked, wondering if that had just been an excuse to leave.

"He wants me to Obliviate him," Severus said quietly, not looking at Remus, only the set of his shoulders and his scent giving away the tension and unease.

Remus shook his head, sad that it had come to that, "Harry knows what is best for his own mind."

"Would you say that if it was you he asked?" Severus questioned him.

Remus looked his mate in the eyes and saw that Severus truly wanted the answer to his question, "I don't know Severus. Talk with Charlie about it, and with Sirius. He was with Harry these past few months and may have some insight."

Severus sneered, and Remus could almost hear the scathing remark towards Sirius, but it never came. Severus just nodded and his dark eyes showed the pain that always surfaced when Harry was the topic of discussion.

"Let's go home," Remus took Severus's hand and together they apparated away.

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	46. Chapter 46

**Chapter Forty-Six**

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Harry basked in the glow of the wards cast by Remus. They were simply the most beautiful piece of magical work that he had ever seen and he hated that he was about to destroy them. The wards would probably last for hundreds of years, but there would always be the possibility that someone would try to take them down in an attempt to release the power they contained.

Expanding his awareness, Harry examined the magic beyond the wards and doubled over, clutching his midsection. He felt his body heave, the contents of his stomach emptying onto the floor. He saw the flare of a cleaning charm and felt Charlie's hands on him.

It was late at night, the time for this process chosen for several reasons. The children were asleep, and so would not know that Charlie and Harry were not there again. He hadn't been able to leave them yet while they were still awake. It would probably be months before either of them could leave the munchkins without doubtful, pained looks following them, their children wondering if they would come back.

There was also minimal interference of magic and emotion from other parts of the building. Harry doubted he could have even stood in the Ministry while all the workers were present, never mind concentrated on the task ahead of him.

His father had suggested that he go through with the obliviation first, once he had been convinced to go through with it that was, but Harry knew there was a chance that his power would be affected by the process. Memory charms were delicate and what he was asking of his father was going to be extremely difficult and tedious. It would be easy to accidentally block a memory that Harry needed.

Charlie was massaging his shoulders, and Harry realized his shirt was gone. None of the other Unspeakables were there, having cleared out of the office to lessen the impact on Harry.

Taking a deep breath, Harry in part melded his consciousness with Charlie's, knowing he had to rely on his redheaded bondmate more than ever before to dissipate the angry magic swirling around in the room behind the wards.

It was worse than Voldemort ever was. Tom Riddle's magic had been limited to what one wizard could control and contain. In the room that held the veil was the power of that stone unleashed, as well as whatever escaped from the veil.

Narcissa Malfoy was no longer a witch, not that she was a muggle or squib. So far as Harry could tell she wasn't even human anymore. Everything that made Narcissa Malfoy what she was had been stripped away and she was no more than a conduit for magic.

"Is she still alive?" Charlie asked softly, their breathing, even their heartbeats synchronized through their bond.

Harry hesitated. She wasn't exactly dead, in that her basic vital functions were still operating. She had a pulse and her respiration was slow but still fine. He could even sense some brain activity, but he doubted that there was any conscious thought.

"I don't think so, not really," Harry finally decided. "Her emotions are gone. It's like she's in a coma."

Charlie nodded and moved closer to him, instinctively knowing that he needed to ground Harry for the next bit of work. Harry felt the smooth skin of Charlie's chest touch his back and the tingle of their magic reacting. He closed his eyes and let his mind drift, his concentration on the magic and nothing else.

By seeing only magic he could effectively see through the wall that separated him from the room with the veil and know every detail of what was happening there.

The magic was still swirling around the room at a high velocity. The veil itself had been ripped from the arch and was stuck against a wall. Harry did his best to ignore the darkness of the magic and follow the paths instead. He saw that the swirling was coming from the archway itself, focused through the stone, and spiraling up the body of Narcissa Malfoy.

In the past Harry had needed physical contact with an object or person in order to affect their magic. He had worked on the ability over the years and discovered that he could reach out with his own magic rather than his hands and influence other magic.

Harry chose the emerald green thread of his magic, the dragon magic he got from Liza, and built it up, feeding it with his magic, Charlie's magic, and magic he drew from the Ministry itself and the ground it was built on.

The green dragon magic was the magic with the most endurance. It was what reacted whenever Harry was in danger. Truth be told, Harry was also a little frightened. He had never done anything quite like what he was trying, never influenced quite that much magic at once. The green dragon magic had been added to what he was born with and if something went wrong and he lost it, Harry would be at less risk than if he lost his gold or red strands.

Whatever insecurities Harry had harbored before Charlie was taken from him magnified threefold in his bondmate's absence. He couldn't stand touch from anyone outside immediate family, which only included Charlie, Snape, and the children. There wasn't even a chance he could enter the great hall again during a meal, much less go to Diagon Alley or Hogsmeade. He was even dreading returning to Romania.

His nightmares had come back, and he and Charlie were both woken every night as a result. Harry would be shaking and sometimes even unable to vocalize what was wrong. The worst of it was that the nightmares were not all his.

It was an act of desperation when he asked his father to erase the superfluous memories in his mind. He had never opened his mind quite as thoroughly as he would have to for Snape. At the end, though, hopefully the only memories left in Harry's head would be Harry's.

He tried to concentrate on the task at hand, focusing only on the magic. He abandoned his barriers for his Empathy to Charlie's control, something they could only do when in close contact and deep concentration.

The green expanded and Harry sent it out. He made sure he had iron control over his magic, and felt sweat beading on his forehead. He made it past Remus's wards, melding his magic with the magic of the wards in a way that didn't break them.

It was dark and powerful and Harry was almost swept away. He felt the dark magic pulling at him, trying to feed off his magic, but he pushed against it and kept his magic autonomous. There was friction between his magic and the dark magic and Harry tried to make his magic grip onto that and reverse the direction of the dark magic.

His breathing started to become labored. Harry had never had to put so much effort into one working of magic before. He pulled at the earth's magic, knowing he couldn't take any more from the Ministry without breaking things and having some tough questions to answer or from Charlie without hurting him.

"I've got you," Charlie's voice broke through and steadied him, anchored him.

Harry latched onto that voice, onto his bond, and let Charlie take everything except that green thread of magic. He forced his magic against the dark magic and the current in the room slowed. Harry felt something straining inside him but he continued.

The dark magic was a swirling black mass with sparks of a myriad of colors coming from the veil. He fought against it, felt it tugging at him, and with a great mental heave he changed the direction of the magic. The archway was pulling at the magic, bringing it all back in. The veil floated away from the wall and returned to the arch, but was pulled in. The stone and the husk of Narcissa Malfoy were sucked in, and Harry felt the veil pulling at him.

He tried to pull back, but it was like he couldn't get purchase. Any progress he made was soon lost and he was exhausted. He slipped and fought and thought the veil would take his magic, and perhaps pull it all in.

The very possibility set off a panic within Harry's mind and he fought harder than ever. His magic responded to the panic and the green swelled, flashed, and lashed out against the archway. There was a brilliant explosion of light followed by darkness.

"Harry."

Harry felt himself coughing. His muscles buckled and his back arched. He was retching and coughing and he felt abused, beaten.

"Harry," Charlie's voice was pleading and Harry felt his pain and desperation.

He managed to open his eyes and saw the blue eyes of his bondmate glistening with tears. Strong arms swept him up into a hug and Harry did his best to reconstruct what had happened, what was making Charlie so upset. He focused on his magic and winced at what he saw, then in another near panic he focused on Charlie, relieved to see that Harry had born the brunt of the magical demand and Charlie's magic was undamaged.

"I think I did it again," Harry said between coughs that had lessened somewhat and were more annoying than alarming by then.

Charlie just shook his head and stroked his hand through Harry's hair. They were still so tightly linked that Harry could feel the sensations on his hand from each strand of hair, and he realized that whatever he had done to himself, Charlie had felt it.

He reached up and wrapped his arms around Charlie, who was sitting on the floor and holding Harry in his lap. They breathed together, and Harry let the scent of his bondmate wrap around him. Settled, he reached out with his magic and felt that Remus's wards were gone, along with the malevolent magic they had been holding back, and the archway itself.

"Whoa," Charlie commented.

Harry didn't know what to think. In his attempt to banish the dark magic he had inadvertently destroyed an ancient artifact that very little was known about. His magic had lashed out against the artifact in self defense, but he couldn't stop himself from wondering if he could have stopped.

"Are you okay?" Charlie asked him, their eyes making contact. Harry saw blue eyes that expressed every emotion he could sense in Charlie, pain, fear, sadness. It was not only Harry that was affected strongly by the past several months. Charlie could detect within Harry the extreme changes, and Harry knew that he felt guilt.

"I will be," Harry said softly, more a promise to both of them than a certainty. He was not okay, may never have been, but he owed it to Charlie, owed it to his children, to his father, and owed it to himself to do everything he could to heal.

As a result he did not give in to the temptation to transform. Harry could feel the phoenix inside him, the need to transform and escape, but he had to try to fix his problems rather than running until he could bury them once more.

The children never knew that Harry and Charlie had been away that night. There was a meeting of the Order regarding the destruction of the veil and the impending mission to Voldemort's hideout, but neither Harry nor Charlie attended. They gave a full report to Remus and Harry's father and let them tell the Order.

Oddly, no one could locate any of the Hogwarts ghosts, and Molly had reported that the ghoul in their attic was missing. Harry suspected that it was somehow connected to the destruction of the veil, but did not voice his speculations. In the meantime, Minerva would have to find a new History of Magic Professor, but anyone would be better than Binns.

Both Harry and Charlie also declined the chance to help examine whatever artifacts were found squirreled away by the Death Eaters. The team going was comprised of Aurors from Britain, France, Germany, and Russia, Unspeakables, Gringotts curse breakers, and several private experts including Snape and Remus. Harry's father was needed in case the wards were linked to the Dark Mark, and Remus was going as Head of the Order and as an expert on wards and his many fields.

Sirius had been in and out of Hogwarts. He was busy testifying before the Wizengamot in Draco's case, supplying recorded and sworn evidence from Harry and Charlie, who were both excused from appearing due to extenuating circumstances. He also spent a part of each day at Malfoy Manor, making sure his cousin's wife was surviving.

The issue of Draco Malfoy was one that Harry had not yet addressed, and could not even consider yet. Each time he thought of the blond he felt rage building inside him. He knew if he saw him he could not be held responsible for the reaction of his magic. Despite knowing that Draco had been under Imperious, he saw his business partner as a threat to his family.

Draco would have to wait. Harry's head was too full of competing memories and wild emotions that he could barely think at times. That problem had to be taken care of before Harry could even think about what he was going to do when he left Hogwarts again.

It was with trepidation that Harry entered his father's office from the door in his quarters just a few weeks before the planned raid. His nerves were making him feel like he was sixteen again.

Snape looked up from the papers he was grading and gave Harry a weak smile, "I assume you want to talk about your idea."

"Yes," Harry said without elaboration and sat down in the chair normally used for wayward students.

There was a deep sigh and the papers were neatly stacked and set on the side, a paperweight charm cast to ensure they didn't fall off the desk.

"This may not be the best room for this discussion," Harry's father offered.

Harry had to shrug, "I don't want the kids overhearing any of this."

He was thankful for his father's Occlumency barriers, which protected both his thoughts and feelings. They made it so that Harry did not have to focus as hard to block his Empathy when with his father.

"We will at least approach this as two adults," Snape said firmly. A few spoken spells and twists of his wand changed the room just slightly. The fireplace had a warm, crackling fire going and two comfortable chairs faced it at an angle so that the occupants could still see each other and speak.

Harry took one of the chairs and waited while his father ordered up tea from the elves. Normally Harry would prefer coffee, but he did not need the caffeine at the moment. He was shaky enough as it was.

"Thank you," Harry said as he took the proffered vial of calming potion and poured it into his tea cup before drinking. The potion immediately went to work and soothed his jangling nerves.

"Exactly how bad is it Harry?" Snape asked in a tone that would have his students in shock should they ever hear the level of concern.

Harry took a deep, shuddering breath. He didn't know exactly how to explain just what his mind was doing to him.

"I had a nightmare last night," Harry decided to try. He glanced over quickly to see that his father was paying attention and breathed in the steam from his tea before continuing. "In that nightmare I saw a family falling under my wand. I heard the encouragement from the other Death Eaters, in particular from Voldemort. I felt powerful and proud and sick all at once."

His story was having the impact he desired. His father had paled significantly and was pouring his own vial of calming potion into his tea. The nightmare had been the night that Snape had finally turned on Voldemort, had given information to his other father about the spy in the Order. It was probably one of the worst torture scenes he had ever participated in.

"The night before it was early training to be the perfect dark wizard," Harry looked up at his father and knew that his eyes had a haunted appearance. "Did you know that McNair used to practice curses on his little sister, and was encouraged by their father?"

"McNair?" Snape's eyes widened briefly.

Harry nodded sadly, "Avery and Malfoy too. The elf trader is in there with them. I was able to lock it away for so long, but now..."

He just let his father fill in the rest. He looked down, trying to tell himself that the shame finding its way into his mind was irrational. He had not asked for these odd abilities. He had not asked to be raped. He had not asked for Charlie to be taken away from him.

Nevertheless his cheeks burned and he felt a lump in his throat. Half the people he had memories for were dead, but a little part of him felt like they had managed to live in the memories imprinted in his mind.

"Harry," Snape almost choked on his name. Harry looked up to see that his father's eyes were moist. "Why didn't you ever say anything?"

He shrugged, "At the time I didn't even realize. I was too much of a mess. Then I shoved it all back and away and locked it up."

"Damn it Harry," Snape's exclamation made Harry jump. He wasn't expecting recrimination in any way. "Remus was right. We let you hide all your problems instead of getting everything out in the open and dealing with it. You're an Empath! You should know that bottling up feelings is unhealthy!"

Harry nodded, not really able to speak without breaking down. Too many people had treated him like a fragile glass figurine for years, afraid he might break at the slightest provocation.

"We'll try it Harry," Snape stood from his chair and took just a few steps to stand between Harry and the fire. "Have Charlie take the children to Romania for a few days this weekend and you and I will go to the Manor so we're not interrupted."

He nodded again and sipped at his tea. Just telling his father about the crowding in his head made him feel better, and when the weekend was over he might be the only one left in his head.

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	47. Chapter 47

**Chapter Forty-Seven**

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Charlie looked around the house, exactly as he had left it, with one small exception. He grinned at the shrieks coming from bedroom of the twins. All four children were in there, Carver and Erica helping the twins unpack.

He breathed in deeply, relaxing with the familiar crisp of the Carpathian Mountains, his home away from England for more than ten years.

Usually, Harry would have brought them all there, even if he wasn't staying, but there were just too many stray emotions at the preserve. If it wasn't for the castle herself Harry wouldn't have been able to stay at Hogwarts either. Remus and Charlie had agreed that Hogwarts was somehow shielding Harry from the students while he was there, as she saw Harry as one of _her_ wizards.

The dragon handler was uneasy, but he suspected that would be normal for quite some time. As he stood there, waiting for the children to be ready to greet the rest of the handlers, Severus was picking apart Harry's mind, isolating and erasing certain memories. It was risky and it was Harry's only hope to keep his sanity.

Charlie felt like a failure, even if he knew that there was no way he could have healed Harry on his own. He should not have let Harry deteriorate as much as he did. Charlie had seen it happening, had been scared almost senseless more than once thinking that Harry would transform and never change back, and yet he had made no effort to arrest the problem.

"Dad!"

He gathered himself together, knowing he couldn't let himself slip into depression, not with four children depending on him, and two of them Empathic. Charlie would never be able thank Severus and Remus enough for caring for his children while he was in captivity and for teaching Kat and Randy the basics of shielding their Empathy.

"Coming!" Charlie yelled cheerfully and jogged into the bedroom.

The four children were dressed in trousers and jumpers, sneakers on and tied. Carver and Erica took their roles as big brother and big sister very seriously and responsibly.

"Everyone ready?"

Four heads nodded eagerly. The five of them went back out to the living room and Charlie produced jackets for each of them. It was early in March and still cold in the Romanian mountains.

"Where is Daddy?" Kat asked quietly as Charlie helped her arms into the sleeves of her fur-lined leather coat and slid her mittens on.

Charlie kneeled in front of her and held out his arms for the others. They would be insecure for months to come, always remembering the morning they woke up to find their Daddy and Dad gone, not to come home for three long months.

"Daddy and Granddad are at the Manor," Charlie told them for the third time. "Granddad is helping Daddy and he'll be home with us soon."

"Is Daddy sick?" Randy asked him, fear in his blue eyes.

"Yes," Charlie nodded, figuring that was as close to the truth as toddlers could understand. It would also explain to them why Harry had been acting oddly ever since they returned. "Daddy is very sick."

"Granddad will fix him," Carver said authoritatively. "He made us better."

Charlie hugged them all tightly, holding back the tears that threatened. He wished he could be as confident as Carver, but deep inside he feared that Harry would never recover from a lifetime of pain and trials. It was too much to ask of anyone.

He had tried to support Harry, to give him the tools he needed to recover, but never, not once did Charlie force an issue that Harry did not want to discuss, and he should have.

Kat began squirming first, and Charlie released them, getting Randy into his coat and mittens, then putting hats knit by Hermione on each small head. He put on his own coat, scarf, gloves, and hat and led his bundled crew out the door and towards the main tent.

All four of the children had been excited and boisterous since Harry and Charlie returned to them at Hogwarts. They had insisted that their daddies look at every piece of homework, every drawing, and each scar from their dragonpox.

Charlie and Harry had been more than willing to comply, just as upset that they had missed so much of their children growing up as their children had been at their daddies missing for so long.

Leading them into the largest tent at the preserve, Charlie was not at all surprised by the explosion of noise and positive emotion. He couldn't stop the wide grin that stretched across his face, the infectious happiness that spread from person to person.

"Charlie!"

His name was called out by more voices than he could count. He could hear footsteps outside running towards the tent, those who were either notified of his return by Floo or sensed the rush of intense joy and came to investigate.

So many pairs of arms wrapped around him, passing him from friend to friend, and the children were all swept up in great hugs, their squeals of laughter only adding to the overall celebratory mood. Charlie only barely recorded each face in his mind before it was replaced by the next.

Anya was one of the last ones Charlie saw and he was astonished to see her abdomen swollen with visible pregnancy. He sought out Jeremy, who was standing close by and grinning.

"When are you due?" Charlie placed a hand on the protrusion and felt the familiar flutter of a moving fetus.

"Two months," Anya glowed proudly, as all pregnant women did.

Jeremy took her hand and kissed her soundly, "We found a place in the nearest town. If you can travel back and forth, we can manage the same."

Anya then sat down and allowed the four small children to feel the baby, answering all their questions, all of which they asked every aunt who had a child in the past few years.

Charlie let his friends and coworkers lead him to a seat of his own, still within sight of the children as they pestered Anya and Jeremy. Renee and Jean-Pierre sat on either side of him and both kissed him on the cheek. Charlie let the love and joy that his fellow handlers were exuding absorb into him and fill him with warmth and contentment.

"So what happened to you mon ami?" Jean-Pierre questioned as the vast majority of the handlers gathered around him.

"And where is Harry?" Gustavo asked with a hint of confusion.

With a sigh Charlie brushed his hand through his hair, realizing he had picked up the habit from Harry, and launched into his tale. Fresh dark bread with butter and strong tea were placed before him to nourish him through his storytelling.

"I honestly don't remember much," Charlie was forced to admit. Troubled expressions showed the concern that each of them felt. "It was only a day or two ago that Severus determined my blood flushed of all potions."

He was thankful to his fellow handlers for keeping the children distracted while he told them everything he remembered, from getting a firecall from Draco telling him that he needed to speak with him urgently, but not over the fire, to holding Harry in the Department of Mysteries.

"He's lost more of his spells," Charlie said painfully. "If he keeps doing to this to himself he'll wind up a squib."

There were several flinches. Being born a squib, without magic in a magic family, was bed enough, but losing the magic you were born with was like losing part of your soul.

"Don't let him do it anymore," Francesca stated plainly.

Smiles and snickers broke out. Every one of them knew that no one could stop Harry from doing something he deemed important enough to risk his life or his magic for.

"I've almost lost him so many times," Charlie said sadly while watching his children play with a group of their surrogate aunts and uncles.

He leaned into the hug from Jean-Pierre, the French wizard knowing that it was not the time for one of his jokes.

"When are you leaving us?" Jean-Pierre asked him softly, with the perceptiveness of an Empath.

The other handlers didn't need Charlie to tell them what he was considering, what he had been considering for a long time. They just knew, because they knew Charlie. It was odd in a way, because Charlie was willing to bet that Harry had absolutely no idea. Harry would give up everything he had for nameless masses of people, but never expected others to be willing to sacrifice for him.

Charlie shook his head, "I don't know. I don't know if Severus will succeed in making Harry's mind his own again. I don't know if Harry will ever build up sufficient barriers to be around groups of people again."

The joy had mellowed, the celebration stilled as several of their number had to return to the task of caring for the dragons. Charlie lifted his head to see the compassion he felt in every pair of eyes around him. He felt loved, cared for, and knew that the same feelings extended to his children and to Harry. These people were family, in a way that few others ever experienced.

"I think you will agree Charlie," Renee said with a small smile, "that Harry is more important to you than any dragon. You know you can always visit here, and we can visit you as well."

Charlie hugged her tightly, realizing that she was doubly family now, through Bill and Fleur and through Severus and Remus. In an odd way she was both cousin and aunt, even if she was only a few years older than him.

Harry arrived late that night, once the children were all in bed and asleep, and did not offer a single word about the new plan of treatment he had requested from his father. While they expected the memory charms to help Harry significantly, none of them were naive enough to think that Harry could sleep without Charlie, so he would be popping over to Romania every night, and returning to the Manor early in the mornings.

Charlie almost pitied Severus that he would have to deal the extremely caffeine deprived Harry every morning.

Charlie was ready for bed when Harry got there, and was instantly tackled with a nearly bone crushing hug and a demanding kiss. It would have been obvious to anyone what Harry needed, and Charlie was more than willing to provide.

Harry had been exceptionally aggressive sexually ever since they were reunited, as if every encounter was going to have to last him for months. Charlie supposed that the children were not the only ones suffering from fear of abandonment.

"I've got you Harry," Charlie reassured his bondmate as he took control and covered Harry with his naked body. "I'm never leaving you again."

There were tears in Harry's eyes, and the emotional pain ripped through Charlie's chest. He had felt what Harry went through those three months without him, but they needed to talk about it. Charlie felt his own eyes begin to tear as he kissed and licked the small salty drops off Harry's face.

"Never," Harry gasped out and urged Charlie into place by lifting his hips and offering himself.

"Never," Charlie repeated as they merged and became one, their bodies, minds, feelings no longer independent or separate from each other. Every thought, movement, sensation was shared as they writhed and thrust together.

They repeated their union again in the bed, and once more in the shower, before falling into a sleep of pure exhaustion, neither able to force themselves to stay awake.

Charlie's wand woke him early and he roused Harry with difficulty. The emerald eyed wizard was still bleary eyed and half dressed when he vanished from their room, probably the only wizard alive that could apparate without even concentrating.

The next several days had very little variation. Charlie saw Harry off early in the morning and then forced himself to get another hour or two of sleep before the children pounced on him. Due to his extended absence, Charlie was no longer assigned to a team. Instead, the senior handlers gave him the status of 'floater', filling in for the others when something came up, or lending aid when a team was overwhelmed.

Everyone knew that it was only a matter of time. Charlie made no request to be worked into a team. He felt estranged from this close knit group of people in some fashion. It might have been that he was the only one with children, a family he was responsible for, but it had been that way for several years.

Maybe the estrangement had started long ago, and Charlie was only just now seeing it.

He and the children took long walks all over the preserve. They even packed up a wizarding tent one night, after Charlie sent Hedwig to Harry with a note about their plans, and hiked all day. Charlie brought a borrowed flying carpet with them, not outlawed in Romania as they were in England, for the return trip.

Lessons were continued for the children, and Charlie worked with Randy and Kat on developing their Empathy. The two toddlers were nearly as powerful in that respect as Charlie was, and would probably exceed his perceptivity by the time they came of age. Unlike Harry though, they would be prepared and know how to manage their added sense.

Several days passed that way before any change came about. Charlie knew that Severus's teaching duties had resumed, and he could only assume that either Severus was traveling between Hogwarts and the Manor, or Harry had gone back to Hogwarts with his father. He did not ask when Harry joined him at night, and Harry did not volunteer the information. When the process was done Charlie would inquire.

He guessed that he had become complacent to some degree. The family was visiting Liza, who had settled down in the sun for an afternoon nap after rolling around on the slightly frosty grass and playing with the children.

Charlie had looked away from a few minutes, thinking of Harry, and unconsciously reaching out to his bondmate along their bond. He sensed slightly disturbing emotions, muted somewhat, and guessed that Harry was in trance for the obliviation process.

Pain snapped him back to Romania, and guilt like he had never felt before lanced through him. It took him a moment to separate everything out and realize that it was Liza's guilt... and Randy's pain.

Sprinting towards the dragon and the wailing children, for Kat had immediately begun to echo her twin brother's cries of distress, Charlie's heart was pounding in his ribcage. Carver and Erica were crying and kneeling by what Charlie knew was Randy, prone on the ground, but thankfully not injured to the point of unconsciousness.

Liza roared, anguished, and flattened herself on the ground, the invitation dragon's gave for a ride. She knew that help was far away and was offering to get them back to the first-aid tent as quickly as possible.

Carver and Erica helped Kat onto Liza's back at Charlie's urging. He scooped up Randy, whose hair was singed away and skin was red and blistering and his eyes screwed shut, and climbed up after them.

Charlie couldn't maneuver to take out his wand and hold onto Randy while Liza flapped her great wings and took to the air. A hike that normally took a few hours took only minutes on her back and they landed closer to the tents then any dragon had been allowed to venture.

Upset, Liza roared again and sped away once the family was on the ground. No sooner did Charlie's feet hit the earth than he began running, calling out for Jeremy, the most experienced Healer among the handlers, and the closest to the Weasley–Potter family.

The instant Charlie entered the first-aid tent Randy was taken away from him and a sniffling Carver told the Healers what had happened. Liza had been sleeping, and the children were playing a game of tag, when Randy, for some reason none of them knew, decided to tickle Liza's neck. There was no fire breathed, but the air she had expelled in her reaction to the tickling had been hot enough to burn the small boy with dragon blood in his veins.

Charlie cradled Kat while her twin was being treated, and Anya came in to help with Carver and Erica. Kat was inconsolable, and Charlie suspected she was feeling every bit of pain and fear that her twin was experiencing. Only when one of them had a moment, did the Healers give Charlie a vial of calming potion and another of pain killer for the little girl.

"Someone Floo Harry," Charlie forced out. He diagnosed himself to be in a state of shock. The chaos was going on around him and it was like he was watching it from outside everything, untouched.

Harry appeared then, his eyes unfocused, and Charlie knew he had taken Raivannin in order to help block out the high emotions he knew he was going to. He went to Charlie and the children first, and Carver sniffed out an apology, taking on the responsibility of not stopping Randy.

"Hush," Harry knelt down and hugged Carver tightly. "You did nothing wrong."

"Harry, we could use some help," Jeremy called out with frustration in his voice. Charlie suspected that the twins were turning out to be as difficult to treat as Harry was.

Knowing what was needed, Harry transformed, sang out a coming string of notes, and flew over to the bed that was surrounded by Healers and wandlight. He disappeared into the ring of Healers, every Healer that lived at the preserve, and Charlie almost held his breath, steeling himself for the outcome.

A collective sigh seemed to come from the Healers and several of them stepped away, leaving Jeremy and the phoenix form of Harry. Jeremy continued to cast a variety of spells on the still reddened skin, while Harry dropped phoenix tears onto what he deemed were the more sensitive areas. Charlie saw him paying particular attention to Randy's eyes.

After several more minutes where Charlie held onto the sedated twin of the boy in the bed, who was unconscious by then, whether naturally or potion-induced Charlie didn't know, Harry transformed again and sat down next to him.

They instantly leaned into each other, almost a movement of instinct or reflex rather than choice. Harry's head tipped and rested on Charlie's shoulder. He reached over and stroked Kat's hair, then held out an arm. Carver and Erica took the signal as intended and practically flew into the family embrace.

"It's okay," Harry crooned to the children. "Randy will be fine."

Sluggishly, Kat crawled from Charlie to Harry and wrapped her arms around his neck. Harry rubbed her back while Carver and Erica took the seats that had been brought in and placed next to Charlie.

"How did it happen?" Harry asked quietly.

Charlie couldn't prevent the guilt that flooded through him. He had recriminated himself again and again for not paying enough attention to the children. With Carver's input he recounted the story, not looking in Harry's eyes, even though he couldn't possibly hide a thing from his bondmate.

He felt a hand on his cheek and looked up at Harry, the emerald eyes glistening with tears, "Is it my turn Charlie? You are not at fault. You did nothing wrong. And that goes for all of you. Hogwarts took its motto for a reason."

"I'm so sorry Daddy!" Carver wailed as he jumped off his seat and threw himself at Harry and Kat, while Erica pressed against Charlie's side and he lifted her into his lap.

Charlie felt Harry sending out comfort and reassurance and wondered how he did it. No matter how close Harry was to falling apart, if some emergency situation came up Harry managed to rally and do what needed to be done.

The two fathers exchanged the universal parental expression of 'we'll talk later', as there were things that needed to be discussed when the children couldn't hear. Their fellow handlers brought the children to get some lunch, giving Charlie and Harry the time they needed alone, Randy still in a potion induced slumber.

"I'm resigning," Charlie told Harry quietly as they stood looking down at Randy.

Harry's head snapped up, "Because of this?"

"No," Charlie shook his head, "for all of us. Don't you feel like we're always rushing, always stretched between here and England? I choose you Harry, and the munchkins. The Manor is our home."

"But you love this," Harry's were watering again. "Don't give it up for me."

Charlie took Harry's face between his hands and kissed him lightly, "I would give up anything and everything for you Harry. You are far more important to me than a job, than my dragons could ever be."

Harry's eyes squeezed shut for a brief moment, as if trying to hold back another flood of tears, and their lips crashed together. Charlie dropped his hands from Harry's face to encircle his waist. They could make this work. They _would_ make this work.

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	48. Chapter 48

**Chapter Forty-Eight**

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The vials were arrayed before him, all those that Severus and Harry had chosen together to facilitate this invasion of his mind and erasure of foreign memories. He checked them one at a time before loading them into the travel pouch that he would carry from Hogwarts to Potter Manor.

There was the Raivannin of course, a very low dosage that would help put Harry at ease more than anything else, and let him drop his Occlumency barriers while maintaining the Empathy barriers. During the process Harry would be near overdose levels on calming potions. There was also a wakefulness potion to make sure that all the calming potions did not put Harry to sleep.

Severus had brewed all the potions fresh, more to think over the ingredients and make sure that none of them would combine to have adverse reactions than anything else. He also admitted to himself that he wanted to be alone in his lab the afternoon and night before they left Hogwarts for the Manor.

He was nervous.

It was worse than that Christmas when he had helped Harry remove the blocks on his magic. Then, he had been furious with the Dursleys for their effect on his son, and his anger had provided a distraction from the uncertainty of the situation.

Also, Albus had been there. This time, Severus and Harry would be alone, and Severus would not even have the benefit of an inner-Harry to act as his guide. Harry would be drugged almost completely out of his mind and in no shape to provide assistance.

All the potions were packed away, two days worth, with more in his lab if they had to continue at Hogwarts during the week, and he had no more excuses to linger.

Harry looked as nervous as Severus felt, not bothering to hide his emotions. There had been a time when Harry's acting skills were almost good enough to fool Severus. Unlike his father though, Harry had not bothered to continue with his masks after the war ended, not in private anyway, amongst family and friends.

"Ready?" Harry raised his eyebrows in question.

Severus nodded, "As ready as I'll ever be to invade my son's mind and possibly destroy every memory he has."

"Dad..." Harry's own nervousness disappeared to be replaced with concern.

Remus came up behind Severus, and he was glad for their bond or he most likely would not have sensed the werewolf's presence.

"We've all been over this Severus," Remus said in that gentle, calm voice of his. "There is no other way."

Severus nodded his head, "I know. I just don't like this."

"I'm not overly fond of the idea myself," Harry gave him a sheepish look. "I just know I have no choice Dad. If we don't do this the next time I transform will be the last. I'm barely holding things together as it is."

That familiar fear clenched at Severus's heart, the surety that he was going to lose his son. Remus would have smelled the fear, because he was suddenly holding Severus close.

"Go on Harry," Remus said firmly. "I'll send him along in a few minutes."

Severus's eyes were closed, so he did not see if Harry nodded or gave any other sign of assent. He just felt slightly warmer for an instant and suddenly knew there was one less person in the room.

A warm mouth pressed against his neck and a tongue snaked out to pull his earlobe between teeth which nibbled teasingly before pulling away.

"You will be fine," Remus's hot breath entered his ear. It was tantalizing, seductive. "You are a skilled Legilimens, and an exacting spellcaster. You are also a caring father. I don't think you could hurt Harry if you tried."

His words, even though they had been disproved in the past, succeeded at filling Severus with the calm and confidence he needed to go ahead with Harry's plan.

When Severus arrived at the Manor he could almost feel Harry casting a series of wards on one of the small sitting rooms in the Master Tower, the room they had earlier chosen for this work due to both its lack of magical objects and comfort.

Tawney stood before Severus and looked at him with enormous round eyes, "Tawney has made calming tea for Master Harry and Master Severus."

Severus nodded in appreciation. The Potter house elves were highly skilled at anticipating the needs of their masters. Harry had informed them that he and Severus would be performing some delicate magic and could have no interruptions, but as far as Severus knew had not requested any refreshment. Both of them were well accustomed to skipping meals.

He found Harry in the sitting room as expected, casting wards for silence, secrecy, protection against magical outbursts, and some that Severus did not recognize.

"Remus created it for me," Harry explained once he finished. "It's to prevent my Empathy from detecting anything outside this space. Hogwarts isolated your quarters this way and Remus was able to figure out how to make that into a ward, with a little help from the castle I think."

The younger man was speaking in an almost whisper again, a tendency that made him seem even more vulnerable. Sometimes it was extremely difficult to believe that Severus's son was the most powerful wizard alive.

"Are you ready?" Severus asked as he started laying out the potions on a sturdy table.

Harry nodded nervously and sat in the chair he preferred. One by one, Severus handed a vial to Harry and his son drank. His muscles visibly relaxed and his eyes took on a glazed look. A sigh escaped from between lips that had formed a soft smile, an expression that had become increasingly rare of late. It was like the heavy weight that constantly rested on Harry's shoulders had been lifted, if only for a short time.

Severus took one of the calming potions for himself, his nerves humming. When he felt himself settle down he focused and aimed his wand, making sure his own Occlumency barriers were as strong as he could make them.

_Legilimens!_

A cacophony of images hit Severus so hard that he was sent reeling out of Harry's mind, his chest heaving as he struggled to regain his breath. He stared at his son, astonished. It was no wonder that Harry had asked this of him.

Severus's intent had been to get a general idea of the state of Harry's mind, and he found a mess. Not even a pensieve would be able to help him sort out the lifetimes of competing memories. There were nearly four hundred years of memories in Harry's head, many of them of the same instance, causing a terrible overlapping. He was amazed that Harry had been able to function as well as he did.

The process of picking it all apart and figuring exactly which memories to remove was going to be extremely difficult and Severus grit his teeth in determination. With a clear objective in mind, Severus aimed his wand once again.

_Legilimens!_

This time he was able to go directly to the memory he had chosen, figuring that those he was familiar with would be the easiest to remove.

_Severus was on the ground in Voldemort's cave headquarters, bleeding heavily, as the softest apparition he had ever heard before caught his attention, followed by a pair of bare feet and pajama clad legs. It was Harry._

Carefully, like he was dissecting potions ingredients, Severus took the memory from the time he was summoned until Albus convinced him to take the sleeping draught, and he sequestered it away, detaching it from any other memories and keeping its location fixed firmly in his mind.

He pulled out of Harry's mind and took a moment to adjust. Taking a deep breath, Severus concentrated on the memory he had just worked with.

_Obliviate!_

The memory spell only took a second or two to do its work. Severus returning to the Legilimency and determined that he had been successful. He then proceeded to repeat the process with every memory that Harry had from Severus's mind until each one of them was gone.

_Tempus!_

The time was well past dinner at Hogwarts. Severus brushed a hand over his face and realized that he was sweating from the effort it took to concentrate on such fine detail in his spellwork.

Carefully, Severus fed antidotes to most of the potions that Harry consumed earlier to him. Harry blinked several times and ran his hands through his hair.

"How do you feel?" Severus asked him, careful not to give indication on whether or not he thought the day was a success.

Harry sat still for several minutes, as if trying to assess that for himself.

"It's still bad," Harry closed his eyes briefly, "but it's different somehow. It's like... there's less pressure, or something."

Severus nodded, thankful, knowing that the easiest part was over. The memories he would have to go through next would be foreign to him, and many of them rather distasteful. He was not just thinking of his former associates, or the house elf trader, but of some of Charlie's memories. There were simply things about his son that he never wanted to see.

"Do you remember any of it? Were you aware?" Severus questioned in part to appease his own curiosity.

Harry shook his head, "No. I was completely out of it." He gave a little wry grin, "Stoned out of my mind, as the muggles might say."

"We should both eat," Severus said firmly, knowing well that if he did not insist Harry would go without. Letting him skip lunch while they were doing this was bad enough. "It is getting late."

Reluctantly, Harry agreed, and they went to another room to summon Tawney and have a light dinner, consisting almost entirely of comfort foods. They each left for the night, back to their respective mates, and Severus was glad when Remus immediately greeted him with a strong hug.

"It's working," Remus said knowledgably.

Severus affirmed, and allowed Remus to lead him to bed. He would need to sleep several hours to prepare for the next day of memories.

Harry was at the Manor before Severus was, and when questioned informed him with a slight flush that Charlie had forced him to eat some breakfast before he left Romania. Almost eagerly, Harry took his next round of potions and settled for another session of clearing out his mind.

_Legilimens!_

It was more difficult, locating memories foreign to Harry's head, but that did not originate from Severus. He started with Lucius Malfoy, as he had known the other man well, and expected that there were very few memories from Harry's three attackers.

Rather than looking for particular instances, Severus went for general feelings. Legilimency could be performed by searching for memories based on emotion, and Severus's hope was to use emotions almost entirely foreign to Harry. He went with the overwhelming smugness and sense of superiority that never even left Lucius after his stay in Azkaban with the dementors.

There were several memories to choose from, and Severus determined that Lucius was not the only one Harry connected with to feel better than anyone else around him. The house elf trader felt the same way, though his memories also had an undercurrent of bitterness.

_He held his wand on the family of muggles and laughed as they writhed and twisted under his curses. They looked like beasts, were less than human. A smirk widened on his face when blood started to seep out of the nose and mouth of the little girl, and then out of her eye sockets. He was doing her a favor, saving her from a mundane life as an insignificant drone._

Severus felt ill as he pulled out of Harry's mind after isolating the memory and had to wait several beats of the heart before casting his memory charm. He did not want to put too much power into it in his anger that Harry had been forced to live with these memories in his head.

Memory after memory, Severus viewed horrors that not even he had been witness to in his days as a Death Eater. Malfoy had been the lead in muggle torture for the Dark Lord. McNair had essentially worked as an executioner of dangerous beasts for the Ministry, and of fellow wizards for the Dark Lord, and had enjoyed his work far too much.

Then there was the elf trader. He had not been a Death Eater, but that did not exempt him from the ranks of sadistic bastards. Some of the things he did to the elves as he beat them into submission, to condition them to a life of grateful subservience, was beyond what Severus had imagined.

He knew that elves born within the great Manors grew up learning from their parents the correct modes of behavior for house elves. What Severus had never realized was that the elves were not born that way naturally. Proof was there in Dobby that house elves could be independent and individualistic, that they were not in their very natures servants to wizards.

_Obliviate!_

Severus erased the memories from Harry's mind, but in doing so knew that he would never be able to erase them from his own. They would always be present, but in a different way than Harry had been forced to bear them.

He felt an uncomfortable urge to join S.P.E.W. Instead, perhaps, he would nudge Hermione in a different direction. Rather than freeing the elves that already served wizard, she could work to rescue those bred and broken by the traders.

At the end of the day Severus felt wasted and wrung out. He hesitated before bringing Harry out of his drug enforced stupor. To some extent he'd understood that this was going to happen, that he was going to take on himself what he was lifting from Harry, but he had not known the full depth of the damage done to Harry's mind.

The sessions were going to slow, as Severus could not miss his classes and his other duties at Hogwarts. As Deputy Headmaster, Severus had been assigned the task of primary disciplinarian, a task to which he was certainly suited. It took some of the pressure off Minerva, who was nearly buried in paperwork on a regular basis, and allowed Severus a venue to purge some of his frustrations. No matter how much he changed, he would always find some enjoyment in terrorizing his students.

He luckily had a break in the middle of the day on Monday, his first day back at classes after he started the Obliviation sessions with Harry. He told Minerva he would be out for an hour or so and used her Floo connection to travel to the Ministry.

His presence there was not expected, as it was the middle of a school day, and he got several odd looks, and several that were a touch fearful. Given the mood he was in, and the resultant sneer on his face, it was no wonder. After all, a good fifth of the workers at the Ministry had taken his potions classes, most of them before he regained his memories of James Potter.

Knocking on an office door, Severus forced his temper to calm. If he could dictate his own behavior in front of the Dark Lord, he could do it anywhere. Of course, he highly doubted that Amelia Bones would use the Cruciatus Curse on him for upsetting her.

"Come in," Amelia's voice called through the door. She looked up as Severus walked in the door, "Severus! I wasn't expecting you."

He took a seat across from her, "I wasn't expecting to have a reason to stop by."

"So what brings you here?" Amelia removed the monocle from her eye, shined it with the same spell Severus used on the glassware in his lab, and placed it on her paperwork. "You are not one for social visits."

"You may wish to issue an arrest warrant for Roger Thatcher," Severus stated plainly, with a hint of sneer.

Amelia raised her eyebrows, "Oh? On what grounds? The method by which our information was gained may be called into question, as I am sure you know."

"Harry did not use Legilimency on him," Severus defended his son. "What happened was a combination of incredibly strong Empathy, his ability to see magic, and in depth training in both Occlumency and Legilimency. It was completely unintentional and caused much more pain to Harry than to Thatcher."

"Is he alright?" Amelia instantly became concerned, as did most people that knew Harry well whenever he came up in conversation.

"He will be," Severus left it at that, knowing that giving details not only would be against Harry's wishes and an invasion of his privacy, but also had the potential to get him in some minor legal trouble. After all, Severus was not a Ministry approved Obliviator, a Healer, or an Unspeakable.

Amelia sighed, "I take it Harry will not be available to testify?"

"No," Severus then allowed himself to smirk, "and after you hear what I have for you the department will not need Harry's testimony."

He proceeded to detail what Harry had inadvertently gleaned from Thatcher's mind. It was enough to provide Amelia with grounds to authorize an Auror raid on his home and shop, where they were guaranteed to find enough violations of the Regulations on the Breeding and Trading of House Elves of 1287 to put Thatcher in Azkaban for at least five years.

Severus was much more relaxed that evening when he went to the Manor to work with Harry.

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	49. Chapter 49

**Chapter Forty-Nine**

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Remus looked around the room, now almost completely devoid of clothing, books, toys, stuffed animals, and the variety of little bits of stuff that accumulated whenever Severus's grandchildren stayed in his quarters for any stretch of time.

The door that the castle had added to the children's room, the one that led to the room Harry and Charlie occupied for a stretch, was gone as well. Remus wondered for a moment if the room itself no longer existed, or if the castle just converted it to another use.

"It's permanent then?" Remus asked, sensing Severus's entrance to their quarters.

Severus walked up behind him and wrapped his arms about Remus's waist. He nodded, "Charlie quit his job in Romania. Harry officially resigned from the Wizengamot and the International Confederation. He'll do some consultant work occasionally for the Unspeakables, but he cleared out his office there."

He had been kept up to date on the progress Severus had made in freeing Harry's mind from the oppressive foreign memories that were slowly eating away at his sanity. He had been almost entirely successful. Some memories that were too similar to those that Harry possessed from his own experiences had been left, Severus afraid that erasing them would also erase Harry's natural memories.

The most difficult part for Severus, and the part he had left until the end of the process, had been Charlie's memories that had been duplicated in Harry's head. Many of those Severus had decided to leave in place, even if they did not pose a threat to Harry's natural memories.

There were a few that Severus deemed crucial to keeping the relationship between the two Empaths stable, and then there were those that Severus just refused to view, and therefore was unable to isolate and remove.

Remus doubted that Harry would have any complaint against keeping those memories intact.

"And Charlie?" Remus asked.

"He said that if any of the preserves end up short staffed, which happens occasionally when a sickness goes around or several handlers leave at once, he's on a call list to fill in temporarily," Severus explained. Remus could almost feel the smirk against his back. "That, and Liza left Romania with them. She's taken up residence behind Potter Manor."

Remus started coughing in his surprise. He knew the grounds of the Manor, and while they were extensive, they were not sufficient to provide a home for a dragon.

"How, exactly, do they plan to manage that?" Remus demanded.

Severus's head dipped to kiss him between the shoulder blades. Remus hummed in appreciation, and had a sudden urge to remove all of his and his mate's clothing.

"The Potter Family owns an island," Severus said nonchalantly, as if everyone had an island tucked away in their back pocket. "It is currently uninhabited, unplottable, completely muggle repellant, and large enough for dragon and a family."

"Is there a house there?" Remus asked, tilting his head back as Severus's hands rose from his waist and began to work on the fastenings of his robes.

"No," Severus responded with another kiss, "but Harry said something about moving the Manor. He wants to talk to you about some calculations sometime, but said it can wait awhile. They want to settle in first."

"Randy's upset that they're not going back to Romania?" Remus guessed.

"Mm hm," Severus hummed in agreement. "He's been slightly placated by Liza's decision to live with them, but still threw a fit when they told the kids. The rest of them took it well. I think Carver and Erica were relieved to get some more stability in their lives."

His robes fell to the floor, completely unheeded, and Severus started to work on the buttons of his shirt. He pulled it off Remus's shoulders and started placing kisses along his shoulders while his hands stroked through his chest hair, which had gone entirely grey by the early age of thirty-eight. Remus leaned back against his mate and the kisses moved to his neck.

"That's good."

Severus chuckled, a deep throated chuckle that threatened to make Remus's knees completely weak. Without warning, Remus turned, deciding that the balance of clothing was too far in Severus's favor, and the other man needed to shed some of his layers immediately.

Remus was rougher, more impatient in his actions, the exact opposite to their public behavior. In any sexual situation his wolfishness reared its head and he became more aggressive, whereas Severus preferred to toy with him and get him all charged and flustered. He latched his mouth onto Severus's neck and began to disrobe him forcefully.

"Birthday party...," Severus gasped out, no longer quite able to form full sentences, "...this weekend...Manor."

"Good," Remus nipped at the juncture between neck and shoulder, a particularly sensitive spot for Severus.

It was not long before there was a pile of black and white cloth on the floor and the two men were completely naked. They stood facing each other, holding the other close, hands moving slowly over familiar territory and sharing the occasional kiss, sometimes lingering and moving over jaws and necks.

"We have the quarters to ourselves," Remus commented with a predatory grin.

Severus's deep eyes flashed, "Indeed."

"No children," Remus kissed a cheek, "no grandchildren," he kissed the other cheek, "and I told Minerva that you are unavailable this evening."

"Did you?" Severus raised a single eyebrow, and Remus's grin grew.

"Indeed," Remus repeated one of Severus's favorite words, delivering it in the same knowing tone that Severus used.

Another deep chuckle came from his mate, shaking them both, and Severus looked around the room, "Not in here."

Remus agreed. While he was eager to take Severus immediately, on any surface, it would be inappropriate to use the room where four small children slept when they visited.

They only made it as far as the sitting room, and Remus discovered that Severus had excellent taste in floor coverings, as the rug in front of the fire was decidedly soft, more than soft enough for a makeshift bed for two men whose joints had suffered more than enough pain for six lifetimes.

He was thankful when they woke in the morning, after staying up much later than usual in front of that fire, a conjured blanket half covering them, and his body had no aches. Severus's improvements to the Wolfsbane Potion had almost given Remus his youth back.

It was very early, much earlier than Severus normally woke, and Remus found that he was unable to fall back asleep. He pulled the blanket up so Severus was fully covered, coaxed the fire back to life, and went in search of some clothing.

It was Wednesday morning, and neither of them had a morning class. They would still be due at breakfast in a few hours, but could arrive a little late, as they had the luxury of staying after the last students ran out of the hall in an attempt to make it to their classes on time.

In a few years time they expected to have more classes scheduled, as they would have to split up some of the classes that were currently combined. The postwar baby boom would have its first Hogwarts students being sorted in five years, with the years after that containing even more children. Remus considered suggesting that they start up the apprenticing program again, which would provide them with teaching assistants as well.

He stretched, reveling in the newfound freedom. Prior to moving in with Severus, and only shortly thereafter having the four Potter children living in their quarters for three months, Remus had been free to traverse his quarters wearing nothing but the skin he was born in. He took advantage of that on occasion, when the mood pressed him, and decided on minimal clothing for the remainder of the morning.

Dressed only in a pair of cotton trousers Remus made himself a pot of tea, put a selection of scones on a plate, and sat down on the couch where he could peer over the table to see Severus still sleeping.

He stared into the fire, eyes darting ever so often to his slumbering mate. He could think of many interesting ways to wake him, but knew that he had worn Severus out the night before. It was difficult keeping up with a werewolf. Remus felt a grin forming on his face.

Knowing he had to distract himself, his mind went back to the conversation he had with Severus the night before. Remus absently summoned parchment and quill and began scratching out some figures. He closed his eyes and pulled up some mental images of Potter Manor. He had to calculate approximate mass, volume, and factor in the number and power of magical items in the house.

Then there was the amount of earth that would have to be displaced on the island to make room for the foundation and the composition of that earth, how far down the water table was, and the level of ambient magic on the island and the design of the wards already in place.

He made a note to have Harry bring him there, and maybe they would clear out the foundation before transporting the Manor to make the whole process easier. They would also have to fill in the hole left when Potter Manor was removed from its current location.

The large piece of missing information, which he could not even guess at, was the location of the island and its distance from the Manor, and which direction it lay in relation. He would also need to know how far off the coast it was.

Numbers and equations raced through Remus's head and flowed through his quill and onto the parchment. He was hardly aware when Severus woke, showered, placed more parchment in front of him, put a scone in his unoccupied hand, and kissed him on his way out the door to the great hall. It wasn't until he took a bite of the scone that he looked up and blinked, remembering how he came to be holding a scone.

Severus pulled Remus away from his latest project to send him to the shower before his first class. Calculations were still being computed as Remus soaped and rinsed, dressed in his teaching robes, and left for his classrooms. He sat down at his desk and stared absently out the window until a bell rang and he discovered his classroom was full of students.

"Today we begin our review for your O.W.L. exams," Remus announced to his fifth year Gryffindors, who predictably groaned but took out their parchment and quills regardless.

The remainder of the week flew by, filled with classes, balled pieces of parchment with discarded arithmancy theories, and a good portion of Severus, which gave his mind a break, if not his body.

A sheaf of parchment was rolled, tucked away in his inside pocket, full of tentative plans for the spells Harry would need to perform to safely transport the Manor and its contents. Severus had the birthday presents for the twins, five-year-olds as of the previous afternoon.

Randy and Kat greeted them at the door, wearing matching blue robes which were just a shade lighter than their eyes, inherited from Charlie. They looked up at Severus and Remus, both faces excited and grinning. Randy had a fuzz of new hair on his head, which was slowly growing back after his incident with Liza. Harry had refused to let it be magically grown, stating that Randy needed some reminder of his folly so his lesson would sink in.

"Granddad!" Twin voices chimed together. "Uncle Moony!"

Small arms wrapped around both men, and the two children were lifted into the air for hugs.

Kat gave each of them a searching look, "Where are our presents?"

Severus raised an eyebrow at her, "And what, precisely, leads you to believe you are getting presents?"

"It's our birthday party!" Rnady and Kat cried out together, not at all deterred by the stern not in Severus's voice.

Severus dreaded the day they entered Hogwarts and considered suggesting that Harry send them Beauxbatons, if for no other reason than the professors there would find it much easier to discipline them. Remus knew that it wasn't quite as bad as Severus was making out. After all, they had both managed to discipline Harry quite effectively.

Remus nudged Severus and grinned at him mischievously, "You didn't forget the presents, did you Severus?"

Severus knit his eyebrows together and started feeling in his pockets as twin looks of disappointment and dread formed on the five-year-olds' faces. Finally, Severus took pity on them and drew out a bag which he enlarged and handed to Harry, who came into the room then.

Remus was seeing him for the first time since before Severus obliviated a good portion of the memories in Harry's head. He had been worried about his pup that entire time, fearful that perhaps Severus, as he was wont to do, had understated how much difficulty Harry was having with his barriers.

He saw that his fears were unfounded. While Harry did have a mild scent of Raivannin, and a vagueness to his eyes that was always a result of the drug, it was less than at Dumbledore's funeral, less than Remus had ever known him to take. Perhaps Harry was finally healing.

"I'll put these with the rest," Harry hefted the bag and made a dramatic gesture of the bag being almost too heavy to carry, prompting Randy and Kat to pester them about what was in the bag.

Molly came into the hall and greeted them, sending the twins off to find the other children in the house, "Everyone is out back. Harry charmed the backyard and lake to be warm and quite a few of my brood are in the water already."

Severus shook his head. The vast majority of the Weasleys still acted like children whenever they were all gathered together, which was usually the only time he saw them.

Before long, Remus drew Harry apart to question him about the move. He and Severus had been the last to arrive, the party restricted almost entirely to family, with a few scattered Order members there, including the entire Gudgeon family.

"We're waiting until late April or early May," Harry explained, not making direct eye contact. Remus knew it could trigger a connection, and so wasn't offended. He just did his best to help Harry out by not seeking eye contact himself. "Ginny and Toby asked if they could have the wedding here, as their guest list is more than the Burrow can handle."

"That will be nice Harry," Remus said softly, memories from days long past resurfacing. "There hasn't been a large party in this house since before your grandparents died." Harry's face showed interest, as it always did when stories of his parents or grandparents came up. "Your grandmother held an annual New Years Ball. Invitations to that event were coveted in wizarding society. It was a sign not only of social standing, but of prominence on the side of the light to be invited."

Harry was smiling, and Remus sensed the near proximity of another packmate, so was not at all surprised by the bear hug from Sirius.

"Aw," Sirius whined, "I can never sneak up on you!"

He didn't bother to let Remus comment, but launched into his own stories of the long past Potter New Years Ball, including the year that he and James spent the whole night trying to sneak some alcohol from under the watchful eyes of Viviane Potter.

They were all laughing by the end of the story, and Remus realized he had not heard Harry laugh like that, so freely, for months, if not years. It was a laugh unencumbered by frequent nightmares of death and torture.

Remus spent most of the day watching. He watched Sirius interact with everyone there, a spark in his eyes and smile on his face. Padfoot looked better than Remus had seen him since their Hogwarts days. He even pulled the Weasley twins aside and handed them a book that Remus recognized easily. It was the Marauder Journal, and Sirius must have gone to Remus's cottage for it.

Severus spent most of the day by Remus's side, but also mixed with the Weasleys somewhat, and was attentive of course to his grandchildren and son. He even saw Severus sneak small gifts to Carver and Erica, ensuring they didn't feel left out.

Renee came to the party with Bill, Fleur, and their children. She and Remus managed to sit aside for an hour or so and shared stories from childhood, and then from school and after, the two siblings finally getting to know each other.

The most uplifting thing of the whole day was Harry. He organized activities for the children, coordinated the meals with Molly, and rarely retreated to Charlie's hold for bolstering of his barriers and emotions. Harry was healing.

Randy and Kat were forced to wait until after dinner to open their mountain of presents, containing everything from new clothes, some knitted by Molly, to books, to a basic potions set for small children from Severus, along with a promise to teach them some very basic potions.

It was a successful day, free of incident. Remus felt the wolf inside almost purring with content. His pack was content, he had his mate and his pups, his sister, and everyone, for the first time in so long, was happy.

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	50. Chapter 50

**Chapter Fifty**

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Petals flew through the air like snow. If Ginny recalled correctly they were from cherry blossom trees, white with just a hint of pink at the base of each petal. A wind that influenced nothing but the petals kept them airborne, and would continue until she and Toby stood before her father, who was performing the spells, at which point the petals would float gently to the ground, but not settling on any of the guests or participants.

It was all visible out the window of the bedroom Harry and Charlie had set aside for Ginny for the day.

She looked around at her bridesmaids. Choosing the robes for them had been agonizing, having to consider so many complexions, and then Angelina's and Tonks's pregnancies. It was a good thing that Hermione had Brendan before she and Ron were married. Her mother was prepared for Tonks and George insisting that they would have a child together, but might never get married.

Her sisters-in-law, plus Tonks, were all dressed in lavender robes of a linen so fine that it flowed like silk, and had to have an under-robe of a deeper violet in a coarser linen to prevent embarrassment. They all had wreaths of flowers in their hair, yellow roses and a filler flower that she couldn't remember the name of, but it was white and purple, and their small bouquets matched.

Ginny had on the Prewett wedding robes, the same robes her mother and grandmother, and great-grandmother, and no one knew how many women before her had worn. They were a creamy colored combination of brocade satin and plain satin with pearls stitched all over the brocade. The robes had been tucked away in a trunk with preserving charms on it until Ginny had told her mother about the engagement. Her mother had cried, and almost immediately brought her upstairs to the attic to reveal the robes that Ginny had not even known about.

After her wedding, the robes would not be worn again unless Ginny had a daughter who married.

Her bouquet of yellow roses, violets, and lavender orchids, all grown by Neville especially for the wedding, rested in a vase on a table to the side of the full length mirror she stood before. It was a spray bouquet, the stems all tied together with a violet ribbon that matched the under robe of her bridesmaids.

"I look ridiculous!" Tonks exclaimed, and Ginny looked at her favorite fellow Auror with raised eyebrows. She then noticed that Tonks was running her hands over the bulge that was just barely visible through the robes she wore, which were snug around the bust and then loose to the ankle.

"You're pregnant," Ginny stated plainly, noticing the stifled laughter of the other women in the room. "Just wait until your eight month."

Tonks groaned and the laughter escaped. Everyone in the room, with the exception of Tonks, had given birth at least once. Angelina cleared her throat and motioned to her own belly, which was protruding quite obviously in the advanced stage of her pregnancy. She was almost exactly at the eight months mark.

Ginny had taken pity on Angelina and Tonks and had the bridesmaids all in a ballet slipper like shoe, comfortable with no heel. It wouldn't do to have Tonks tripping down the aisle or to have Angelina's ankles swell so much that she couldn't fit into the shoes. As far as Tonks was concerned, it was bad enough Ginny had put her in a dress robe. She couldn't even wear trousers underneath!

Hermione moved her wrist in a complicated pattern, waving her wand over Ginny's face and applying the final stages of her make-up while Fleur pinned up curls of red hair. Ginny had taken a hair-lengthening potion just for her wedding day, courtesy of Severus, a gesture Ginny never would have expected until recent years. She closed her eyes when Hermione prompted her.

"There we are!" Fleur pronounced as Ginny felt the weight of her veil being placed on her head. It fell to her waist, just below the line of her hair.

Her breath caught as she looked in the mirror and she heard a choked gasp from her mother, who was observing from a seat in the room, "My baby!"

The woman in the mirror was completely unfamiliar. Ginny saw someone out of legend, out of the tapestries hanging in Hogwarts of the days of Merlin. Fleur had pulled her hair away from her face, weaving strands together, studded with pearls, with most of it flowing freely down her back. Her veil hung from a wreath of roses identical to the ones in her bridesmaids' hair.

The make-up Hermione applied was simple and almost unnoticeable, but it transformed her face, her freckles almost disappearing under a layer of china white powder. Tears came to her eyes and she heard a quick _Impervious_ escape Hermione's lips, protecting her make-up.

"Mum?" Ginny felt her stomach flutter. All of a sudden it was so real, and her nerves started dancing. She had slept like a rock the night before, a part of her not believing that she was getting married the next morning, yet well aware that the entire Weasley clan was bedded down in Potter Manor for her wedding.

Molly Weasley stood, her handkerchief blotting at her own tears, and hugged Ginny tightly, "You look lovely Ginny. I am so proud of you."

She almost felt like her knees would give out, like she would faint or collapse.

"Someone go get Charlie or Harry," she heard distantly.

There were footsteps, and then her brother's face came into focus. She felt calm and serene, and could tell he was projecting the emotions onto her. He held her with a gentility that wouldn't be expected of a dragon handler and directed her to stand in front of the mirror again.

"Do you remember when you used to play princess Gin?" Charlie asked her, his voice low and soothing.

She nodded, a smile starting to form on her face, knowing what was coming next, "I used to make Ron pretend he was Galahad, and I would be Guinevere, and the twins would be the evil knights."

Giggles erupted in the room, as three women got new blackmail material on their husbands, or in Tonks's case her permanent boyfriend.

"Today you're our princess Ginny," Charlie kissed the top of her head, through the veil, "and Toby is your Galahad."

"How is he?" If Ginny, with her whole family there for her, was nervous, she hated to think how Toby was feeling, with only a few close friends from work amongst the guests.

"Harry is doing the exact same thing for him that I'm doing for you." Charlie paused and she saw the Weasley mischief grin on his face, "only without the reminders of pretending to be a princess I hope."

She swatted at him, and he dodged away, laughing along with the rest of the room. He had successfully dispelled her nervousness, and now Ginny just wanted the ceremony to start.

Looking out the window, she could see Bill, Ron, Fred, and George in their muggle-style tuxedos leading the guests to the seats. Harry's house elves had revealed that Potter Manor had stored away hundreds of chairs and small round tables and long buffet tables, just for large parties, saving Ginny and Toby yet another step, and expense, in planning the wedding.

Toby would also be wearing a muggle tuxedo, as Ginny could not dream of asking him to wear robes. As a nod to wizarding traditions though, her brothers and Harry all had button links and cufflinks in the colors of their families, and in Harry's case the Potter crest on a tiepin. The seats were nearly full, and Harry and Toby walked out of the Manor and took their places in front of an arch of flowers, violets and yellow roses.

There were several Heads of Families among the guests. There was her father of course, and Harry in the wedding party. But seated there was also Severus (Ginny still had trouble calling him by name), Sirius, Neville (the title not yet transferred back to his father), and the newborn Malfoy twins temporarily filling in for their father, under house arrest until his trial. The cutest, most agreed, was her six-year-old nephew Dante in the official formal robes of Lord Bonacieux.

Charlie blinked then and gave Ginny another hug, "It's time for me to head out there Gin-Gin."

A shiver of anticipation ran up her spine. It was time. Outside, Harry lifted a hand and music began.

"Imogene Molina Weasley and Tobias Lincoln Sheffield we are gathered here today to witness the bonding..."

Ginny's cheeks were almost numb, she had been smiling so long, but she just couldn't seem to stop. She looked into Toby's eyes as her father spoke, as he cast the binding spells, which had been altered slightly as Toby was a muggle and did not have his own magic to bind to Ginny's.

She felt her magic, as she had never felt it before, reaching out and enfolding her almost husband. It wrapped around him and sank into him and marked him as hers. She could distantly hear sniffling and knew that her mother at least was crying.

Tonks handed her the ring to place on Toby's finger, as Harry did the same for Toby. They each spoke the vows they had written themselves, in the muggle tradition, and her father wrapped their hands together with a band of cloth dyed in the Weasley family colors, with the crest directly over their joined hands.

The ceremony was brief, and at the end Toby lifted the veil away from her face and kissed her in front of all of her friends and family. They were one, and nothing could ever break that bond.

Ginny, still smiling widely, walked arm-in-arm with Toby back down the aisle and into the Manor. They climbed all the way to the highest point and out onto the roof, where Colin was going to take pictures for them.

Downstairs, Harry would be talking with the elves and getting the reception started, and then the rest of the bridal party would join them for more pictures. For the first time she could ever think of, Ginny treasured Colin's obsession with his cameras.

"I would like to be the first to present to you all my daughter and son-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. Sheffield," Arthur Weasley stood at the base of the stairs leading into the great room with a Sonorous Charm.

He kissed both Ginny and Toby on the cheek as they entered the room to wild applause and sat at the seats of honor at a long table by the wall opposite the fireplace.

"Thank you so much Harry, Charlie," Toby grinned at his new brothers-in-law as the house elves began serving the wedding party and the guests from the spread of food laid out along a side wall.

Ginny looked closely at Harry. She knew him best perhaps outside of Charlie, Severus, Sirius, and Remus. He didn't have that glazed look from using Raivannin, and his smile was open and free, reaching his eyes and making his whole face brighten.

"We were glad to offer our house Toby," Harry responded for both of them, seated next to Toby, with Charlie on his other side. "Besides, it's not like we have to do any of the cleaning!"

"Harry Potter!" Hermione exclaimed from a few seats down. "How dare you take advantage of your elves like that! I'll have you know –"

Her latest rant on the oppression of magical creatures was cut off by her husband kissing her and Ginny couldn't stop herself from laughing. She had caught the glint in Harry's eyes and knew that he said that purposefully to provoke Hermione.

The food was beautiful, but Ginny could barely taste it, the few bites that managed to actually make it from her plate to her mouth. All during the meal guests came up to the table to congratulate her and Toby, or just to talk. The few MI-6 agents who had been invited spent almost the entire day with their eyes wide in amazement, even though all of them had already known of the existence of the wizarding world before they were invited.

All evening long people were calling Ginny Mrs. Sheffield, and she had to remind herself that they were speaking to her before she was able to answer. Since it looked like George and Tonks would never have a wedding of their own, it was the last Weasley wedding, at least until the next generation was old enough.

"Aunt Ginny! Aunt Ginny!"

All her nieces and nephews, released by their parents or whoever was charged with watching them for the day, bombarded her on the dance floor once the music started and she had danced the first dance with Toby. She danced with each one of them, even the ones not really old enough to do more than bounce up and down, bending their knees to the beat of the music.

She still couldn't believe that Harry had gotten her favorite band to play, the Ghoulfiends, an all female band that played a wide variety of styles. He must have played the Man-Who-Defeated-You-Know-Who card in order to book them, but she didn't mind in the slightest.

The party began to wind down as it got late. Ginny saw her Mum shepherding all her nieces and nephews up to the bedrooms they were sleeping in, nearly all of them bleary eyed despite the copious amounts of sugar they ate in the form of wedding cake.

"Gin?"

She turned to see Harry and Charlie standing together, Charlie's arms wrapped around Harry's waist as Harry leaned back against Charlie. They both looked content, happy, and Ginny held back tears that came to her eyes at the thought that someone had tried to ruin what they had together.

Kissing them each on the cheek, Ginny smiled at her favorite brothers, squeezing Toby's hand. She hoped that she and Toby stayed as close as Harry and Charlie were, "Yes?"

"We'd like to give you our gift now Gin," Charlie grinned and handed her a scroll, tied with purple and yellow ribbons that matched her wedding colors.

Ginny took it, feeling a slight tingle of magic from the parchment, and untied the ribbons, unrolling the parchment for her and Toby to look at together.

The first sheet was legal document that she scanned quickly and gasped. Behind it was a wizarding photo that made her lose whatever control remained and tears started falling. She flung herself at her brothers and hugged them tightly.

"This is too much," Toby managed after a few minutes, his eyes disbelieving.

"We want you to have it," Harry insisted. "Both of you have done so much for us..."

"I didn't expect anything in return," Ginny wiped at her eyes and accepted the handkerchief Toby handed her as he nodded in agreement.

Charlie was grinning, "All the more reason. Besides, it's empty now. What would we do with it?"

Ginny fumbled with the quill that Harry held out and signed her name, after reminding herself to use her new last name, and then handed it to Toby for him to sign as well. Harry and Charlie both signed after Toby did and Harry tapped the parchment, causing it to roll up on its own and disappear with a small 'pop' to the Ministry Office of Land Holdings.

"I made a Portkey that can take you there," Harry said with a smile that bordered on mischievous. "You can go anytime you want. There's furniture and linens, which you can change whenever you want, and the kitchen is stocked. The house is a mix of muggle and magic, and there's a train station about a ten minute walk away that has a commuter rail to London."

Ginny looked to Toby, who nodded with a small smile. They had planned to spend the night at the Manor, before leaving in the morning for their honeymoon after brunch with the family, but they skip out on that easily. She held a hand out and Harry passed her one of their wedding invitations.

"Brenna!" Harry called.

"Yes Master Harry sir?"

"Please take all the gifts and all of Ginny's and Toby's belongings to Sheffield House," Harry instructed before turning back to Ginny and Toby. She wanted to thank them again but didn't get a chance as Harry said, "3... 2... 1..."

A hook behind the navel took Ginny and moments later she was in front of a small stone house, small in comparison to the Manor anyway. It looked to be two stories, with a garret space, more than enough space for them, and even for a few future children. There was a garden along either side of the path leading to the front door, and a white fence all around the property. It was enough land for children to play and grow in.

There was even a carport to the side, and Toby's Land Rover was already in place. Ginny wondered what else of theirs Harry had managed to move without their knowledge. They _had_ been at the Manor for a few days.

Toby took her in his arms and kissed her firmly. He pulled back and looked her eyes, "It's beautiful, but not as beautiful as you are."

She melted. He always knew the perfect thing to say.

Holding hands they walked to the front door, which opened for them of its own accord. Brenna the house elf was standing inside and held up a set of keys for them.

"Master Harry says to give you keys," Brenna bounced on the balls of her feet. "Brunch will be ready for yous when yous be waking."

With a 'pop' she was gone and Ginny and Toby entered their new house. The furniture was all theirs, from both their apartments. They had planned on staying in Hogsmeade together, Toby taking Portkeys to and from London for work, until they found a new apartment for both of them, but this was perfect.

There was the smell of fresh whitewash, and fires crackling merrily in the fireplaces. Fresh flowers sat in vases on the mantle, and if Ginny knew Harry, in each room of the house. There was probably chocolate, champagne, and in the kitchen there would be plenty of their favorite teas.

"Mrs. Sheffield?"

Toby bowed and held out a hand towards her.

Ginny giggled and put her hand in his, "Yes Mr. Sheffield?"

"What say we locate the bedroom?"

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	51. Chapter 51

**Chapter Fifty-One**

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He really couldn't explain how he felt. Charlie made fun of him for it... an Empath who was at a loss to describe his feelings... but only because Charlie knew exactly what he meant.

For so long there had been the push and crowd and sometimes the almost overwhelming presence of memories in his mind that did not belong to him. He never spoke to anyone about them, because he did his absolute best to bury them so deeply that he wasn't even really sure they there for a time.

Charlie theorized that some of Harry's memories had gotten locked away with the others, and was the reason he had trouble sometimes recalling the Dursleys, or some of the events of the war against Voldemort.

Then Charlie had been taken away from him and slowly his barriers had crumbled away and all those memories broke free after the encounter with the elf trader. He had been so confused, at times not even sure which memories were his and which were foreign. The Raivannin helped, and then Charlie when he came back, but it wasn't enough any longer.

Now they were gone, and for the first time in years there was no weight in the dark recesses of his mind pulling at him. For the first time he could remember with clarity exactly what the Dursleys did to him, and the Death Eaters as well.

It took a few weeks to sort out his own memories after his father had gotten rid of the rest, with the exception of a few that felt like Charlie, some that could _only_ be Charlie.

Harry relaxed... full, truly relaxed as he had not done... ever in his memory. Always before, there had been the chance of the Dudley or Uncle Vernon or Aunt Petunia barging in on him, or yelling out some demand.

Then there had been Hogwarts, where he was almost never alone, where he was constantly surrounded by other students who all had expectations of him based on the scar on his forehead. And towards the end of school he had started to put all his energy into protecting his mind and senses, even while he slept, and he had never stopped.

Snape had tested his Occlumency barriers. They were fully intact with almost no effort on Harry's part. It was like they were a part of him now, exactly the way they were supposed to be.

His Empathy was another matter. That was more difficult to block, but Harry had quite a bit of practice and was finding it much easier than it had been just a few years before. Emotions not directed specifically at him were easiest to block, one thing that made Ginny's wedding so pleasant. All the emotions, or most anyway, were aimed directly at Ginny and Toby. As, for those directed at him, Harry was finding that he didn't have to fully block them. Like his ability to see magic, he could let the emotions wash over him, and through him, and dissipate.

Harry rolled over and smiled. Charlie was on his side, facing away from Harry, and snoring lightly. It was a Saturday morning, late April, and the gardens were flowering. He could hear birds out his window, and almost smell the tulips and daffodils. Sunlight was coming through the window and reflecting off the small number of dust particles in the air.

It was one of those mornings that Harry expected to find only in his children's storybooks. If he wasn't careful, he'd soon imagine that the birds were all collaborating to sing a specific tune just for him.

He yawned and turned over, reaching for the coffee cup on his bedside table that the elves always had waiting for him when he woke. He needed at least two cups to achieve coherency each day.

The sweet nectar flowed down his throat and Harry hummed in appreciation. He felt the mattress moving as Charlie shifted and a deep chuckle.

"You know," Charlie's voice said as a hand ghosted along his back and then pressed more firmly, easing out any kinks, "it's just wrong that you make those sounds when you're drinking coffee _and_ during sex."

Harry swallowed before he spat his coffee out onto the bed with his laughter.

"It is _very_ good coffee," Harry grinned at Charlie, who held his hand out for the cup.

As it was one of the mugs that always refilled itself, the elves never bothered with more than one. It was just easier for Harry and Charlie to share. Besides which, Charlie didn't drink nearly as much coffee as Harry did.

Charlie reached past Harry to put the mug back on Harry's nightstand, and Harry decided that Charlie was in the perfect position. He leaned back against his pillows and pulled Charlie with him, their lips pressed together, and the rest of their bodies soon following.

"Daddy!"

Giggling interrupted them and Harry willed his excitement away. Nothing broke the mood like the invasion of the toddlers. At six-years-old the twins were hardly toddlers anymore, but Harry hated to admit that they were growing up. It was only five years until the two of them were off to Hogwarts, and even sooner for Carver and Erica. Carver was nearly nine.

Randy had about two inches of hair, which was still growing faster than muggle hair would, even with Harry's admonishment that the little boy was not allowed magical aid. He couldn't fully stop Randy's innate magic from helping the process along though.

"Can we go to the zoo today?" Kat asked, her blue eyes wide and pleading.

"Please, please, pretty please?" Randy added.

"Not today," Charlie told them firmly.

"Aw!" they protested simultaneously.

Harry raised his eyebrows, "Dad and I have a meeting to go to today, but if you are good for Tawney and Brenna we'll think about the zoo for tomorrow."

Sensing potential victory, and not wanting to do anything to spoil it, the twins climbed onto the bed, hugged them, and scampered away, feet pounding down the stairs towards the kitchens and food.

"You're not the only one getting better," Charlie ran his hand along Harry's ribcage, which was just about back to its pre-kidnapping condition. Snape had been sending nutrient potions directly to Tawney, who wouldn't take 'no' for an answer from Harry.

"Yeah," Harry agreed, capturing Charlie's hand in his and kissing it softly.

The twins and Carver and Erica were also much better. For weeks they had clung to Harry and Charlie, as if afraid that they would disappear for months again if they so much as left their sight. The first time they had both left the kids with Molly there had been tears, but the most recent time all eyes were dry.

"Ew!"

Harry let his head fall back, with a 'thunk' against the headboard. It was one of those mornings, where he wasn't even going to be able to kiss Charlie without interruption.

"Good morning Carver," Charlie greeted the nine-year-old.

"Morning Dad," Carver replied, his nose wrinkled at the sight of his fathers _kissing_. Just recently he had taken to reacting that way, where the twins still giggled and Erica mostly ignored them or just grinned. "Tawney says breakfast is ready."

Harry shook his head. It was just like that house elf to send one of the children, rather than popping in on her own. Harry could easily tell the elf to wait, but not his children. They would never be denied a meal, even as punishment.

Dragging themselves out of bed once Carver left the room, Harry and Charlie dressed and followed the smell of porridge and sausages and coffee to one of the smaller rooms off the great room that had an excellent view of the backyard. It was just the right size for the six of them to have a meal together.

Leaving the children with the elves looking after them, Harry and Charlie left for Harry's office at the Hogwarts Preparatory Academy.

"Minerva informed me that I might be seeing you today," Albus's voice greeted them upon arrival.

Harry smiled fondly at the portrait. He had recently spent almost an entire day with the portrait just talking. There were things he had never managed to say to Albus while the elder wizard still lived, and it had been cathartic to say them to the portrait, even if it wasn't the same. After all, the portrait was only a collection of select memories, and the essence of Albus, not actually Albus himself.

"Would you like to move to the Manor Albus?" Harry asked his former mentor. He had talked to Albus about his plans, and the portrait's approval had meant more to Harry than it should have.

He supposed he would never stop seeking others' approval. Some of the damaged from the Dursleys might never be reversed, and Harry was starting to accept that.

"That would be a welcome change," Portrait Albus twinkled at them and popped a lemon drop in his mouth. "Perhaps a portrait of one of the other former Heads could be placed here for communication between schools."

Harry grinned, "I am sure Phineas would love to get out of Grimmauld Place, as it is almost always empty now."

Charlie snickered. It would be a very interesting few weeks after that change.

They went up the stairs and found that a good number of the Inner Circle Order members were already there. Some of the information they would be discussing in the meeting was sensitive, and therefore not open to whatever members decided they could make the meeting.

"Harry!" Hermione hurried over to them and hugged him tightly. He soaked in her care for him and returned the hug, reveling in the simple action of hugging without having to throw up every barrier he could.

"Hermione can I talk to you before the meeting starts?" Harry took her arm and led her to one of the smaller tables. Hermione was back at work as Headmistress, complete with a playpen in her office, and Molly looked after Nell while she taught.

"Sure Harry," Hermione gave him a confused look, "of course."

They sat, and Harry cast a privacy spell around them before pulling out a sheaf of parchment and placing it on the table. Hermione instantly pulled it over and eyes widened before Harry even spoke.

"Harry... you can't...," Hermione began to protest.

"You're right Hermione," Harry said, though what he meant was the exact opposite to her intention. "I can't work with him. I can't see him. I never want to set eyes on him again as long as I live. Merlin, I can't even say his name without getting so furious –"

He cut off his sentence, knowing she would understand. Hermione always understood. It was one of those things that made her his best friend.

"With time...," Hermione tried, but then sighed and nodded.

She knew him well enough to know that his trust wasn't all that hard to earn, but once it was gone it took hard work to get it back. Harry couldn't see his former business partner putting in that effort, and, frankly, didn't think he would even let him try. Some things were just inexcusable. If it been Harry that was injured he might have been able to forgive, but it was Charlie, and indirectly all his children.

They both signed the paperwork and all the responsibilities Harry had regarding the Hogwarts Preparatory Academy went to Hermione, along with ownership of the building and the endowment for the school, and Harry's place in the business partnership.

Hermione hugged him again, and Harry let her, knowing that it probably gave her more comfort than it gave him. As Harry dropped the privacy spell Remus, most likely sensing the action, called for the meeting to begin.

Outside the room Neville paused. He nervously looked to his side, "Are you sure?"

"We'll be fine Nev," Alice Longbottom kissed her son's cheek.

Neville grinned. His parents had steadily improved to the point that they stayed lucid all day, only lapsing at night, just before it was time to go to bed anyway. They hadn't been out in public though, and the only time people outside of family had seen them was that night the vampires and dementors attacked. None of the Aurors had reported to the press, for which Neville was incredibly grateful. He was dreading the _Prophet_ stories, and starting to suspect how Harry felt about the attention.

His father opened the door and the four of them walked into the room as if it was nothing out of the ordinary. Both his parents had been taking nutrient potions, skin health potions, hair refreshing potions, and even used one that returned their hair to its original color.

It looked like the meeting had been about to start, but there wasn't a sound in the room as the Longbottoms walked in. Remus had frozen from where he was standing at the head of the table. He strode quickly across the room and swept Neville's mum up in a tight hug.

"Alice!" Remus exclaimed as his mother laughed. He set her down and pulled Frank in next, "Sweet Merlin, is it really you?"

"No," Frank answered with a grin, "just Frank and Alice."

Sirius had jumped up his chair and bounded across to be the next to hug the Longbottoms, followed by the rest of the members of the old Order.

Neville made eye contact with Harry across the room, and quickly made sure he wasn't looking directly in his friend's eyes. They exchanged grins, and Neville reached his hand up to feel that his cheeks were damp yet again. He had cried more in the past few months than ever before. His Gran had been crying a lot too, not to mention hugging his father every time he walked into the same room as her. Lots of tears were being shed at Longbottom Manor.

It took the Order at least fifteen minutes to welcome back the older pair of Longbottoms and all find seats again.

"Legilimency?" Harry asked Neville as he sat beside him.

Neville looked at Harry in surprise, "How did you know?"

Harry smirked and suddenly resembled his father, "You don't think the only reason I sent Ollivander to you was for your trees, do you?"

Neville couldn't help gaping at his friend. The subject of his parents had come up completely innocently in his conversations with Ollivander, or at least Neville had been under that impression. Thinking back, Ollivander was the one who started talking about them.

"He was in Slytherin," Harry whispered as Remus started the meeting.

On his other side Luna patted Neville's hand, "Close your mouth dear. Didn't you know Harry was almost sorted into Slytherin?"

Ginny snickered from the other side of Charlie. She and Toby had returned from their honeymoon only a few weeks before.

Neville just shook his head and decided to listen closely, knowing that Remus would ask an explanation of him later in the meeting. It was part of the reason he had agreed to bring his parents. That and he didn't want their old friends to find out about their recovery from the _Prophet_, even if only _The Quibbler_ was going to get an exclusive.

"Sirius," Remus called on his old friend, "can you give us an update on the trial?"

To this Neville paid close attention. He had only heard the barest of outlines on the situation with Harry and Charlie, and the Malfoys from what a few people had mentioned at the wedding, though quietly as Anna and her children were there.

"It's kinda strange," Sirius stood up and scratched his head. Neville could see Snape almost itching to comment, but holding back and getting a smile from Remus for his troubles. "I'm both the main witness in the case and sitting as judge on the Wizengamot. Wouldn't it be weird if they had to try a member?"

"Generally Wizengamot members are supposed to pillars of the community Padfoot," Remus was certainly amused.

When Neville's parents joined in on the laughter he couldn't stop himself from grinning. Every morning he woke and was still amazed that he had them back, that he had done what every orphan dreamed of and brought his parents back.

"Anyway," Sirius grinned sheepishly and winked at Harry. "The trial is mostly a formality. All our evidence, including Harry's signature imbedded affidavit, proves that Draco Malfoy was under the Imperious Curse and had no control over his actions. He submitted to questioning under Veritaserum, which took place in Thursday's session. There will be a press release sometime next week with the ruling. He'll be acquitted unless some other damning evidence comes up."

Sirius looked around and when there were no questions for him he sat down. Remus remained seated and sighed.

"One of the reasons we are Inner Circle only today is because none of the Malfoys or Bea is Inner Circle and we have a difficult decision to make – Do we expel Draco Malfoy from the Order," Remus said as he still sat, signaling that the following was to be an open discussion.

Moody spoke up first, "Imperious or not, he nearly killed not only Charlie and Harry, but any of us that were at the Ministry that night, not to mention the Aurors that fought the dementors and vampires. Out of respect to all these people he should no longer be allowed as one of us."

Noise erupted around the room and Neville was stunned. He looked next to him to see Harry looking down at the table and Charlie's face set in a grim frown.

Most of the voices agreed with Moody, and a few even said that they thought Malfoy shouldn't get off so lightly. There were grumbles about Lucius Malfoy claiming he had been a Death Eater only because of the Imperious Curse.

Part of Neville was surprised when Hermione stood, let off a bright spark from her wand accompanied by a loud 'bang', and spoke sternly to them all, sounding a bit like McGonagall. She was Harry's best friend along with Ron, but she had frequently been the voice of reason in Gryffindor Tower when they were still students.

"I am just as angry and upset as all of you," Hermione began in the tone of voice she usually had used when Harry and Ron had left their homework until the morning it was due, "but you cannot crucify Draco because he wanted to protect his family and was manipulated by an Unforgivable Curse cast by his own _mother_. How many of you can break the Imperious?"

There was uncomfortable shifting all around the room and Neville stifled a chuckle. It was just like they were all back in Gryffindor and fourteen years old.

"I'm not saying we should welcome Draco back with open arms," Hermione placated a few of them with that statement. "If only for his own safety he should not attend meetings, at least none where Harry, Charlie, Severus, Sirius, or Remus are present." Looking around the table she adding, "make that any Weasley as well.

"There are plenty of Order members that never attend meetings. We don't need to put him on probation or anything silly like that, but he shouldn't be at meetings," Hermione sighed and continued, "which makes our problem a little different. Draco is the co-founder and part-owner of the school housed in _this building_, the same building where we have all our meetings and our library. Depending on his reaction this may not be a problem, but we won't know until we talk to him."

There were nods and Remus called a vote on whether they should expel Draco. Not even Fred and George voted aye. The next vote was on excluding him from meeting to which everyone agreed. Remus told them they would table the possibility that they might have to move their meetings until they knew Draco's response to their decisions.

Surprisingly, he called the meeting to a close, saying that as always anyone who wanted to stay behind was welcome. It was a move Neville wasn't expecting but was glad for.

He was even more thankful when his parents took on the burden of explaining exactly how they had recovered when the entire wizarding world expected them to waste away the remainder of their lives nearly catatonic in St. Mungo's.

Neville wasn't surprised though when Harry and Charlie chose to leave. Harry looked healthier than Neville had seen him in a long time, but he _did_ have four children to get home to.

"Harry?" Alice asked as he stopped to speak to them before going.

He nodded and smiled, "I know you and Mum were friends. Charlie and I wanted to invite all of you to the Manor for dinner whenever you can. I'd like to finally meet my godmother."

Neville knew Harry's relaxed manner, and that he was essentially inviting them for that night, "What time?"

"We eat about sixish, so five?" Harry grinned and Charlie chuckled behind him.

Luna kissed Harry and Charlie both fleetingly on their cheeks, "Five sound good. We'll see you then. I'm sure Alice and Frank can't wait to meet Lily's and James's grandchildren."

Neville saw his parents' eyes go wide and realized there was yet one more tidbit he had forgotten to tell them about before the meeting. Oh well, at least he had made sure to tell them Snape had been a spy for Dumbledore and Sirius was innocent.

He grimaced inside when he realized he still had to tell them about Snape being Harry's father.

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	52. Chapter 52

**Chapter Fifty-Two**

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Remus stood far away from the Manor, Charlie and Severus beside him and the children grouped in front of them. They had to be far enough away from Harry so as not to distract him while he performed the complicated spell that Remus had crafted in order to move the Manor, but close enough to watch. They all wanted to see the Manor disappear.

There was still morning dew on the ground and on the leaves. As the sun rose in the sky and the air warmed a bit the dew would go away, but it added a little sparkle to the grounds as they waited.

The spell itself was not a complicated one, despite all the factors that Remus took into consideration. He mostly calculated as deeply as he did to keep Harry from overtaxing his magic yet again. If Harry continued to use more than his innate magic, drawing from the earth and others, he would burn out the vast majority of his available magic.

Any student who did well on their Arithmancy N.E.W.T. could have designed a spell to facilitate the transport of Manor from one location to another, but Harry would have had to provide all the details while he was casting that Remus calculated. With Remus's spell it would be the spell itself moving the Manor. A less powerful spell, the one that would have been simpler to design, would have allowed _Harry_ to move the Manor.

"Shhhh!" Erica urged them. Severus and Charlie had been quietly discussing something that Remus hadn't bothered to listen to and the twins had been messing around. "He's starting!"

Harry took a deep breath and focused on the wards of the Manor, those linked directly to the structure but not those that encompassed the entire property. These wards did things like ward off pests (the discovery of which made Harry wonder why there were garden gnomes at the Burrow – maybe Molly actually _liked_ the little things or she kept the around as a good punishment job). Some ensured the stability of the building, prevented deterioration, weathering. All of them were specifically for buildings. The rest of the wards covered the entire property.

Immersed in that magic, Harry felt a lazy smile form on his face. He had made his magic flow with the magic of the wards and he could _feel_ the Manor. The elves, as ordered, were all on the island, waiting for the Manor to arrive, at which point they were to make sure nothing was damaged in transport.

He began to speak the incantation that Remus designed and felt the wards begin to pulse. Harry did not have to use much of his magic for the spell, for which he was grateful. He still hadn't fully tested himself to see what the extent of the damage was from the destruction of the veil. The N.E.W.T.s had been convenient the last time, allowing him to see precisely the effect that the battle with Voldemort had on his magic.

Concentrating on the task before him, Harry continued to repeat the incantation. He felt the wards themselves drawing magic from the earth, without having to channel it through Harry. Smiling, Harry continued. He didn't know how long he stood there, soaking in the sun that heat his back through the black shirt he wore, incanting the spell to move his home hundreds of kilometers.

It was somewhat like apparition, and Harry knew it shouldn't have startled him. After all, he had linked himself to the house wards, so when they transported to Potter Island, it should have been no surprise that Harry was brought along with them.

Opening his eyes, he saw that the Manor was resting perfectly in its new spot, atop a cliff, the edge a few hundred yards away, the surf beating against the base in a soothing rhythm. On the other side of the Manor, approximately one hundred yards from the main doors, was the forest edge. He knew that the forest ran down to the beach, with several clearings interspersed in the trees, a few of them the perfect size for a Welsh Green dragon to call home.

In a tumble of limbs and brightly colored clothes, with one exception, the Potter children, Charlie, Remus, and Severus arrived via Portkey. Tawney came out of the house, no doubt sensing their arrival, and announced that all was well and the Manor was stable and ready for occupancy.

The head house elf led the children inside while the four men began casting the wards that would protect the property, including the new addition of quite a few fire safety wards in anticipation of Liza's arrival.

Harry adoptive dragon mother had taken Randy's injury very hard. Without intending to, and without even being aware at the time, she had injured a small child that she considered as a grandchild. The dragon had hid for several days, filled with remorse and guilt, until together Harry, Randy, and Kat had tracked her down and told her in no uncertain terms that she was not to blame.

Several people remarked at the time that anyone close to Harry had a propensity for blaming themselves for any harm, great or small. Harry couldn't help but agree to that assessment.

The wards were up quickly, as there were four powerful wizards working on them, and Remus and Snape left, promising to return soon with Sirius. The school year was nearing completion, and Remus and Harry's father would be spending most of their summer at Highland Cottage with several trips to the Manor.

Sirius was going to be busy with the Wizengamot and preparing for his second attendance at the International Confederation of Wizards meeting. The most recent meeting had lacked representation from Britain, but as the Bonacieux family held a seat from France Fleur and Bill had attended as regents for their son, who spent a happy week being spoiled by his Aunt Gabrielle. They had reported on the meeting to the Order, and were helping Sirius.

Charlie wrapped Harry in his arms and Harry leaned back against his bondmate. Their bond was humming nicely and he felt the tingle of their combined magic all over his skin.

Harry was feeling... calm... as the warm spring breeze picked up some coolness from the ocean and swept over them, bringing a salty scent with it. There was a roar overhead and Harry and Charlie looked up together to see Liza circling the island, looking for a place to land. She swooped down and disappeared into the trees, probably choosing one of the clearings as her new home.

"Let's head in," Charlie said, nuzzling the side of Harry's neck, kissing him just below his ear.

He smiled and nodded agreement. It was time for a late lunch anyway and if the children were not complaining yet, they would be soon.

Nothing on the inside of the Manor had changed. The only difference was the view from the windows. As Harry went up the stairs to find his children Charlie checked to make sure their Floo connection still worked. It was one variable that Remus had been unable to take fully into account, so he had just guessed.

"Floo works," Charlie announced as he entered the children's playroom the same time as Harry and the kids did. "Mum and Dad are coming over for dinner."

Harry grinned. There had not been one single time that they called the Burrow without arranging a time to see Molly and Arthur, no matter the reason for the call in the first place.

Their daily routine didn't change at all, despite the move. Harry also found that with the Manor more isolated he was more relaxed. The further away other people were, the better off Harry was.

Carver and Erica were each in their rooms, playing quietly until their bedtimes, while the twins were being put to bed. They still shared a room, and insisted on keeping it that way. Harry and Charlie knew they would have to change that eventually, by the time puberty came along if not sooner.

"What story do you want tonight?" Charlie asked as he sat down on Randy's bed. Kat was sitting next to her twin and she frequently fell asleep during story time. Harry or Charlie would carry her to bed and tuck her in without waking her. It never worked the other way around, as Randy was easy to wake.

"This one Daddy!" Randy held up a book to Harry who struggled not to show his shock.

The twins adopted identical expressions of confusion and Kat crawled over her brother to Harry's lap, "What's wrong Daddy?"

"Why this book?"

" 'Cause Carver couldn't read it to us," Randy explained.

"Can you understand what it says?" Harry asked the twins gently.

Randy pointed a finger at the page Harry opened to, "That word is 'the'."

"An' that's 'and'," Kat announced proudly.

Harry handed the book over to Charlie, whose eyes were already round, not having understood a word of their conversation, "This is one of Daddy's grown-up spell books. Is there another story you want?"

Randy turned around and pulled a book out from between his mattress and headboard. Both Harry and Charlie raised their eyebrows at the unorthodox book storage, but Randy completely missed the exchange.

"Once upon a time..."

The door closed with a quiet click and Harry shook his head. He took the offending book to his library and tucked it back in its place on the bottom shelf of the bookshelf, where the least dangerous books were. Looking over the shelf, he considered rearranging a few volumes, especially as the twins developed their reading skills.

"So they're Parselmouths," Charlie said quietly, leaning against the doorway.

Harry nodded, his eyes closed. He hadn't wanted that for his children, hadn't wanted them to inherit those talents which would result in his children being shunned or vilified. He could feel Charlie approaching, and even before Charlie touched him there was that tingle as their magic connected.

"It's not your fault Harry," Charlie said quietly, "and I do not intend to allow those children to be ashamed of any of their talents, or to fear what others will think of them. You have proved to the world that wizards who are not dark can be Parselmouths. Randy and Kat will only support that further."

Harry ducked his head and rested it against Charlie's shoulder. He smiled, "You always know what to say."

"Not always," Charlie hugged him tighter.

As they walked out the door Harry set a ward on his bookcase so that none of the children could remove books from it. He felt tears forming, gratitude for Charlie making his chest feel tight. The twins were so lucky to have him. _Harry_ was so lucky.

"The twins are Parselmouths?" Remus raised his eyebrows.

Harry nodded and stoked the fire the muggle way. He added a handful of branches that would fill the room with a pleasant scent.

His father looked like he was contemplating this latest revelation, "Interesting. I find myself wondering if there is some Slytherin blood in your lineage."

"I've been wondering the same," Charlie said as he entered the room with Sirius. "The munchkins are all asleep." He gestured to Sirius, "He let Carver and Erica sign the Code of Conduct."

Harry raised his eyebrows at his godfather.

Sirius shrugged and smiled sheepishly, "They've been begging ever since they read it. Their names _are_ mentioned on it."

"Everyone ready?" Charlie asked as he started pouring firewhiskey into glasses.

Harry took one of the glasses and took a seat by the crackling fire. Juniper and lavender drifted out with the heat. Regardless, every muscle in his body was tense, and that tension only lifted slightly as Charlie joined him and wrapped his free arm around Harry's waist.

"I had nightmares for years about being attacked by a werewolf," Severus told all of them before drinking his first shot of whiskey.

Remus looked to his mate with apology in his eyes, though they had already talked about that night more than once, "I had nightmares about attacking someone while I was Moony. Only when I started using the Wolfsbane did they go away."

Sirius was looking down at his lap, and he drank his shot quickly, "When I was in Azkaban I saw Severus being attacked by Moony. Sometimes I couldn't remember if it had actually happened and I thought that was why I was there. I thought I had killed Severus, and that Remus was dead because of me."

Harry looked up in shock. He hadn't known any of it, and it made what he was saying much easier. He drank his firewhiskey, "I still have nightmares sometimes about Cedric, and about that time I was captured. My nightmares about the veil stopped a few years ago, when Dad started working on getting Siri out."

Charlie hugged Harry. "My nightmares were all centered on Harry, mostly on something happening to him before I could tell him that I loved him."

Charlie drank his shot and Remus saw that Harry was lightly flushed. He knew it had to be in embarrassment. Remus had been the one to insist on the night of confessions. It was in place of all of them ganging up on Harry and forcing him to talk about his childhood and other trials. The theory was that all of them sharing their troubles would make Harry less reticent, and it seemed to be working.

"My mother would backhand across the face," Sirius told them all. "She had this one ring with a huge diamond that always cut my cheek open. They always healed me just enough that there wouldn't be any marks." He drank, filled his glass, and drank again.

Remus's eyes were nearly glowing in a moment of anger. He remembered the day that Sirius had run away from home.

"Never leave marks," Harry snorted. "Is that some sort of abusive caretaker creed? Vernon almost never hit my face or hurt my hands – couldn't let anyone see the bruises, could he?"

He passed the bottle over to his father with a flick of his hand. It was obvious who was next that time, as Molly and Arthur Weasley would have sooner drank poison than hurt their children, and from everything Harry had been told Remus's father had been a good man.

"My uncle preferred curses," Snape curled his lip in disgust. "He only ever hit when he lost control."

It was Sirius, of course, who hours later suggested changing the confessions to a drinking game.

"I never had sex with a bloke," Sirius grinned widely as every other person in the room was forced to take a drink.

Remus glowered and then smirked. Harry wasn't sure he wanted to hear what was coming next. It was a dangerous game to play when some of the people in the room knew nearly _everything_ there was to know about each other.

"I never kissed Peter Pettigrew's ass," Remus said silkily.

Gagging noises sounded all over the room.

Sirius made a face, but still drank his shot and glared at Remus, "That was supposed to be expunged from memory and never mentioned again!"

Harry, his father, and Charlie were all laughing hysterically though. Remus smirked, quite pleased with himself. They had been talking for hours, and the atmosphere had gotten heavy in the room. Each of them had been close to tears at least twice, and Charlie had briefly taken Harry out of the room once. Sirius's change to the night had brought much needed relief, even if it was at his own expense.

"I never got a tattoo," Charlie started the game back, and every other wizard except Remus drank.

Sirius looked at Harry in confusion, prompting Harry to stand and show off his dragon, as well as offering the story of how it was obtained.

The fifth bottle of firewhiskey was empty, and the sixth was nearing the same state. Harry suspected he had learned more about his parents – all three of them – in that one night than any person had a right to know about those that sired him.

For instance, Harry never needed to know about the time his father had a prank backfire on him before it was finished and had to go to Poppy for removal of some rather uncomfortable growths in very embarrassing places. It was a miracle Harry had ever been born.

"I never," Sirius announced with a slur to his words, "had sex with a witch or wizard."

Every other man in the room drank and Harry gave Remus quizzical look, "Why is it that every time he speaks it's something to do with sex?"

Remus, however, was giving Sirius an odd look, "You mean I actually lost my virginity before you?"

Sirius shrugged in his alcoholic haze, bonelessly reaching for the bottle and missing it twice, his hand swiping through empty air, before he managed to catch it around the neck and pour himself another shot, spilling some over the edge of his glass. He had been proved to have the lowest tolerance in the room.

"I don' know," Sirius answered. "Did you? I did lots of stuff," he gestured with his hand, unfortunately the one holding the glass, "bud never dat. Never loved anyone."

Sirius then proceeded to down his shot and slump over, landing on an already snoring Snape. Next to Harry, Charlie was curled up and slumbering peacefully.

Remus looked at Harry in shock, "Did Sirius just tell us he's a virgin?"

"I think he did," Harry was equally surprised.

Both men, neither of them very affected by the alcohol, one being a werewolf and the other with dragon blood mixed with his own, considered Sirius's words. Harry realized that his godfather had been sent to Azkaban at the age of twenty-one, and quite possibly might have missed out on that milestone, which led him to wonder if Wormtail had ever... He saw Remus make a face.

"Wondering about Wormtail?" Harry asked with a snicker. By Remus's shudder he assumed that he had guessed correctly.

Remus frowned and put the cap back on the last bottle, which was nearly empty anyway. "I had always assumed, what with all the muggle girls he brought back to his flat, and with James introducing him to a few of his friends at Hogwarts, that Sirius saw about as much action as James did."

Stealing a glance at his unconscious godfather, Harry shook his head, "I guess he was waiting."

With a series of flicks of his wand, Remus put Sirius and Severus in a more comfortable position, covered them with a blanket, then looked to Harry for a moment. Harry looked down at Charlie, shrugged, and floated his bondmate over to join the pile. There were only a few hours left until the children would wake up anyway.

Remus snickered, thinking back on some of the more memorable moments of the night. He saw that Harry had a grin as mischievous as Remus felt.

"Dad and Siri...," Harry started laughing.

"Singing...," Remus finished the shared thought.

Harry lifted his eyebrows at Remus, "Think I should put it in my pensieve?"

"Definitely," Remus nodded, still laughing at the memory of Sirius and Severus with their arms around each other, singing their surprisingly shared favorite Christmas Carol. "I know Sirius won't remember it, but I've never seen Severus get this drunk before."

"I don't think he ever has," Harry smiled fondly at his father. "He could never risk it while Voldemort was around, and then he needed someone to do this with." He grinned, "It's not exactly the best father-son activity."

"Did it work Harry?" Remus suddenly turned serious.

Harry smiled and looked down. His father, Remus, Sirius, and Charlie had all been straightforward with him, telling him their exact intentions for the drinking fest. He looked back up at Remus and breathed deeply. All the tension from earlier in the evening had evaporated.

"Yeah Remus," Harry spontaneously reached out and hugged the werewolf tightly. His hug was returned, and Harry felt... nothing from the other man. He was blocking completely, barely even trying. "I think it did."

Remus stretched when they stepped apart and Harry heard the popping of several joints, "Think we should leave them like this?"

"They'll be fine," Harry nodded. He was also secretly looking forward to the looks he knew would grace Sirius's and his father's faces when they saw how they finally fell asleep.

They trudged up the stairs and checked in on the sleeping children. The pale light of dawn was creeping through the cracks in the drapery and casting shadows around the rooms.

Harry and Remus ended back in the great room, where their mates and Sirius slept on. Harry summoned Brenna, and soon they had tea and scones, hangover potions at the ready for the eventual wakening of the three men on the expanded couch. All evidence of the heavy drinking vanished with the house elf.

"And you Harry?"

He smiled at the werewolf over his steaming cup of tea, the fire still burning merrily.

"I'll be fine too."

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	53. Chapter 53 Appendix

**The Official Marauders Code of Conduct **

**Further Revised Edition**

Code 1: Marauders stick together.

Code 2: There are four Marauders. The number of Marauders shall be four, and four shall be the number of Marauders.

Code 3: I solemnly swear I am up to no good.

Code 4: Marauders may hex each other, but only with just provocation, ruled on by the innocent, yeah right, bystander Marauders.

Code 5: Should any Marauder break a Marauder's Code, said Marauder's punishment shalt be determined by all other Marauders. The guilty Marauder will feel compelled to right their wrongs.

Code 6: There is _no_ Code Six.

Code 7: No Marauder may share any Marauder secrets with non-Marauders.

Code 8: The Pack comes first.

Code 9: Should any Marauder actually have children someday, Merlin forbid, said children shall be automatically deemed Honorary Marauders.

Code 10: Marauders are Marauders for life and beyond.

Code 11: No Marauder shall join You-Know-Who for any reason whatsoever.

Code 12: No prank is too big, no prank is small, no prank is unworthy of a Marauder granted that the prank does not cause permanent harm.

Code 13: Gryffindors Rule. Slytherins Suck.

Code 14: Marauders shalt not rat each other out to professors, prefects, Head Boy, Head Girl, Slytherins, or prank victims.

Code 15: When a Marauder is having trouble every other Marauder is duty bound to help said Marauder.

Code 16: Remus Jacques Lupin is the alpha wolf and brain.

Code 17: James Aaron Potter is the front man.

Code 18: Sirius Constantine Black is the crazy one.

Code 19: Peter Charles Pettigrew is the sneaky one.

Code 20: There are no secrets between Marauders.

Code 21: Credit for a prank may only be claimed in the name of the Marauders.

Code 22: Marauders are purveyors in the aid of magical mischief.

Code 23: All blackmail material is common property of all Marauders.

Code 24: The night of the full moon is the time for fun and games.

Code 25: All Slytherins are fair game.

Code 26: Revenge is sweet.

Code 27: The Marauder's Map is not to be revealed to any non-Marauders.

Code 28: James's invisibility cloak shalt not be exposed to non-Marauders, with the exception of other Potters and anyone James deems worthy.

Code 29: Davey Gudgeon, AKA Cyclops, may be considered a Junior Marauder and participate in pranks, but shalt not be privy to all Marauder secrets.

Code 30: Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs shall be the official names of the Marauders.

Code 31: Honorary Marauders may be appointed by unanimous consent of all Marauders or are automatically inducted upon completing a bonding ritual with a Marauder.

Code 32: Lily Evans is an Honorary Marauder and may be included in all Marauder secrets.

Code 33: Pranks shalt not be played on Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore.

Code 34: Harold James Potter, Honorary Marauder according to Code 9, was born July 31, 1980 at 9:42 am at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, weighing 6 pounds and 5 ounces, to Lily Elizabeth Evans Potter and James Aaron Potter after 15 hours of labor and 20 hexes before we took away Lily's wand. Harry shall be raised as befitting a Marauder, entitled to all the privileges and heritage thereof, and though Padfoot is his Godfather of record every Marauder is responsible for his happiness and wellbeing. Welcome into the Pack, our first pup.

Code 35: Merlin help us, Severus Snape is okay after all and qualifies as an Honorary Marauder and member of the Pack.

Code 36: Harry James Potter bonded to Charles Winston Weasley, making Charlie and Honorary Marauder and member of the Pack.

Code 37: Carver Potter and Erica Potter are adopted in the Pack and qualify as full Pups and Honorary Marauders by Code 9. Their birthdays are May 23, 1996 and September 5, 1997, respectively. Their date of adoption is June 30, 1998.

Code 38: On March 15, 2000 at 3:13 and 3:23 in the afternoon Randolph Harold Potter and Katherine Lily Potter were born to Harry James Potter and his bondmate Charles Winston Weasley, by surrogate mother Imogene Molina Weasley. By Code 9 the twins are Honorary Marauders and Pups of the Pack.

_James Aaron Potter_

_Remus Jacques Lupin_

_Sirius Constantine Black_

_Peter Charles Pettigrew_

_Lily Elizabeth Evans Potter_

_David Francis Gudgeon_

_Harold James Potter_

_Severus Octavian Snape_

_Charles Winston Weasley_

_Carver David Potter_

_Erica Gillian Potter_


End file.
